With You
by MadiWillow
Summary: Troy is married with a small daughter. Gabriella is married and pregnant. They didn't keep in touch after school following a nasty breakup, but everyone knows that true love never dies. COMPLETE. TxG
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** YAY A NEW STORY! You don't know how happy I am that I finished a story. I've probably had, like, 10 stories that I've started and this was the lucky one to actually be completed and posted. It took quite a few months to write it, but I finished it nonetheless! This story has 12 chapters plus an epilogue, making it my longest so far. :-). So please read it and give me your honest-to-God thoughts on it.

**Title: **_With You  
_**Rating:** _T  
_**Author: **_MadiWillow  
_**Summary: **_Troy is married with a small daughter. Gabriella is married and pregnant. They didn't keep in touch after school following a nasty break-up, but everyone knows that true love never dies.  
_**Genre:** _Drama/Romance  
_**Chapter: **_Chapter 1_

_Beep, beep, beep!_

Gabriella Richards groaned. She rolled over onto her side and slammed her hand on the top of her alarm clock, silencing it. She pried her eyes open and saw that it was already eight o' clock.

_Another sleepless night..._

She threw the covers away from her body and stretched groggily. Looking behind her, she wasn't surprised to see that her husband, Nathaniel, was already gone. He usually would leave around six in the morning for work and return after midnight. The only times they ever got to see each other were right before he went to sleep.

Gabriella could never sleep at night due to the child squirming around in her uterus. She smiled down at her stomach, covered with a lacy white nightgown, and rubbed it lovingly. Inside of her was her and Nathaniel's first child, sex unknown. They wanted to wait until the delivery to find out that special detail. And they only had two months left.

She stumbled out of bed and turned on the shower. After peeling out of her nightgown, she stepped into the shower and let the hot, soothing water wash over her body. She looked down and just saw her massive belly. She chuckled a little. Long since had the days gone by when she could still see her feet.

After her shower, she dressed into a pink, maternity sundress. She blew dry and sprayed her curling solution onto her hair, put in a couple of diamond studs Nathaniel had given her for their first wedding anniversary, applied some light makeup, and then padded barefoot into her kitchen.

She found a healthy breakfast containing a bowl of corn flakes, strawberries, and orange juice waiting for her on the table – courtesy of the maid, Danielle. She quickly ate it before slipping into a pair of matching pink sandals. She was going to go to the baby store that day to pick out furniture for the baby.

Gabriella pulled out of the driveway in her black BMW (a gift from Jonathan for her previous – twenty-sixth – birthday) and took a quick glance at her large house before driving off.

Okay, truth be told, Nathaniel was rich. Filthy rich. He worked in their family business, founded by his great-grandfather, and Nathaniel was paid very well. And when his father dies – which could very well be soon, as the poor man had cancer – Nathaniel was set to inherit millions from him. As if he didn't already make seven figures.

Gabriella liked being rich. It wasn't like she went around buying only the best and most expensive things, but it was nice to know that the chance of running out of money was very slim. She had to admit it. Because, come on, who wouldn't like that? But, truthfully, sometimes she wished she could trade all of her money and expensive possessions for a husband that was around more often; a husband that wouldn't hang up on her when she called to excitedly tell him the first time the baby moved; a husband that actually _cared_ about her.

She pulled into Babies R Us, which was located some five miles from her house in Buffalo, New York, and parked in one of the special 'Expectant Mothers' parking spaces. She grabbed her purse and walked towards the entrance of the store.

Gabriella always got excited when she entered the baby store, and had to exercise great self-control in order to not buy everything in the store. She already had a few baby's outfits, all in yellow or green, and some toys. Now she was here for furniture: the crib, changing table, stroller, dresser, and highchair. Nathaniel had told her last night to get whatever she wanted, since he 'wouldn't be much help.' Gabriella had been slightly put down, because she'd always dreamed that her husband would want to be as much a part of his child's life than she did, but things don't always work out the way you imagined them to.

She walked down the an aisle, trying to find a nice, uni-sex stroller, when she ran smack-dab into a man checking out little girl strollers.

Gabriella went flying backwards, but the man caught her before she hit the ground. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry!" he exclaimed. "Did I hurt you at all?" he asked, concerned, as he heaved her upright.

She put her hand to her stomach, breathing heavily, but didn't seem to suspect any damage. "No, no, it's alright." She looked down and brushed herself off, before she heard a voice say, "Gabriella?"

She turned around and saw that it was none other than Troy Bolton who she'd run into, looking aghast at the sight of her. In his hand was a pink stuffed puppy.

"H-hey, Troy," Gabriella said, dazed. "It's, uh, good to see you." _I guess._

Troy cleared his throat uncomfortably. "You too."

There was a pause. "So, um, what are you doing here?"

He help up the toy in his hand and answered, "Buying things for my daughter."

"No, I mean, here. In Buffalo."

"Oh." He gave her a puzzled look. "Well, I live here."

"For how long?"

"About a year. We moved here right after Lauren, our daughter, was born." He flushed with pride. "She's thirteen months old."

Gabriella, however, focused on the first part of the statement. "We?"

"Me and my wife..." said Troy in a slow, demeaning voice. Gabriella felt jealousy boil up inside of her.

"Oh, of course." Gabriella let out a small, embarrassed laugh.

"And I see you're expecting." Troy gestured towards her protruding belly.

"Yup," she said happily, placing a hand on her stomach. "Seven months."

"How long have you been married for?"

"A year and a half. What about you?"

"Two years,"

"...fun,"

There was a long, awkward silence between them. Gabriella looked at the ground near Troy's shoes, stroking her stomach – a habit she'd grown accustomed to over the last few months – until she felt movement underneath her hand.

Beaming at her stomach, she rested both hands on it, waiting for more movement. She felt a kick under her hands and Gabriella couldn't help but giggle. It was amazing to think that her own child was inside of her. "It moved," she said, forgetting whose presence she was in.

"That's great!" Troy's voice came from far away, ripping Gabriella from her thoughts.

She jumped slightly and looked up at him. He was grinning at her.

"Whenever Lauren would kick, I would always keep my hands on Devon's stomach, sometimes for an hour, to see if she'd move again," he confessed. "It drove Devon insane."

Gabriella felt anger ripple inside of her again at the mention of Troy's wife; she hated the fact that she already disliked this woman before they'd even met, but anyone who was married to Troy and had carried his child wouldn't sit well with Gabriella. _It wouldn't have driven me insane,_ she found herself thinking.

"I'm sure your husband does stuff like that, too, huh?" Troy added.

Gabriella sighed. "Well... no. He's not home much." She paused. "Come to think of it, I don't think he's even felt our child kick before." She said it sadly, realizing how good Devon had it to have such a loving, caring, and involved husband.

"Oh, I'm sorry," said Troy earnestly, like he actually meant it.

She shook her head, smiling slightly. "No, don't worry about it. He just works a lot."

Troy nodded. "I see."

There was another awkward pause between them before Gabriella cleared her throat. "Well, I have to go look at some furniture, so..."

"Yeah," said Troy, sounding slightly relieved. "I'll let you go."

Gabriella gave him a small wave and a smile. "See you later."

He nodded in agreement before turning around and disappearing. Upon his departure, Gabriella sighed in relief and leaned against the rack of strollers. She felt so drained having to just talk to Troy. It had been nearly eight years since they'd last seen or spoken to each other, and, frankly, their last meeting had not been a pleasant one.

It was the last day they had to spend together before school started. Gabriella was going east to attend New York University, while Troy was going to West Virginia University. They'd originally been planning on staying together, visiting each other as much as they could during weekends and vacations. Nothing was supposed to change.

That is, until Troy told her he wanted to break up. She'd been stunned and unable to speak, so he'd just kept on going. He said he wanted to be able to go to college without being tied-down, and that they could still be 'friends.' Gabriella had been furious, not just at the fact that he was dumping her, but because he'd been cowardly enough to wait until the last day they saw each other before parting ways. She'd abruptly left the restaurant they were eating at and ignored Troy's shouts to let him drive her home or to stay so they could work it out. But the biggest thing was that he hadn't come after her... that was the clincher.

He never called her, and she never called him. She stayed in touch with her other friends from school, but they'd explained to her that Troy had never returned their calls. His parents had moved to Arizona, so whenever Gabriella and her friends went back to Albuquerque for vacations, they never saw him. As far as any of them knew, Troy had died.

Gabriella sighed again. _Well, he's not dead,_ she told herself. _He's just married with a kid._

Even though Gabriella was mad as hell at him for dumping her the way he did and never contacting anyone again, she couldn't help but feel jealous of his wife. As much as she hated to admit it, she still had feelings for Troy, and she felt like a terrible human being to think it. Here she was, a married pregnant woman, having feelings for her old high school sweetheart who'd dumped her on her ass after over two years of dating, never to be heard from again. She should be pissed at even his memory... but she couldn't help it.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Gabriella realized she was still standing in the middle of the stroller section of the store. She shook her head to clear her mind of any thoughts of Troy Bolton and started to look for strollers.

Two hours, and five large boxes containing various items of furniture for the baby, later, Gabriella arrived home. She asked the live-in maid, Danielle, to help her carry in the boxes. Normally Gabriella would never ask to help moving heavy objects, but due to the fact that she had a child growing inside of her, she felt it would be in the best interest of the baby's health to get help.

Danielle was a beautiful girl, with long dirty blonde hair, sparkling green eyes, and olive skin, only one year younger than Gabriella herself. At twenty-five, she'd already been pregnant twice and miscarried both. Her parents had died when she was very young and she'd been a foster child for her entire childhood, living in a total of 51 foster homes before she turned eighteen. She'd had a hard past, being constantly abused. Her first pregnancy had been at sixteen. At eighteen she'd moved in with her boyfriend, living with him until she was twenty-one and he left her. It was in that time she'd had her second miscarriage. For four years after that she steadily tried to find work before finally landing a good job with Nathaniel and Gabriella, where they paid her $10 an hour and a place to live. Danielle repeatedly told Gabriella that she had no interest in leaving her job for a long time, which made Gabriella happy. She was very good friends with Danielle. Since she didn't work, it was only natural for them to become close. And it was mostly because of this reason that Danielle insisted Gabriella not strain her back by carrying in the boxes and to go inside and get a drink of water. She obliged, but reluctantly.

That afternoon, Gabriella and Danielle had fun putting the furniture together and re-arranging the look of the room. The crib and changing table were both white, while the dresser was yellow with picture of bumblebees hand-painted onto the drawers. Gabriella put the yellow sheets she'd bought a few weeks earlier inside the crib. She also arranged all of the clothes she'd previously bought into the drawers. She put a couple of toys in the crib, on the changing table, and a yellow lamp on the dresser. The room had already been painted yellow, so when she and Danielle stood back to admire their work, they were satisfied.

The stroller and highchair remained in the garage, as neither of them would be needed for a few weeks and Gabriella couldn't wait until that moment came.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** And heeeere's chapter 2! Thanks for all the wonderful reviews everybody, I really appreciate it! I waited until alerts were back up to post this for my own selfish reasons, so that you would all know when it was posted, but hey, I'm sure a lot of people did that. ;-) But yeah, anyway, they're finally back up so here you are.

In case you didn't notice, I had a lot of trouble ending like all of the chapters in this story, so be prepared for a lot of gay endings.

**Title: **_With You  
_**Rating:** _T  
_**Author: **_MadiWillow  
_**Summary: **_Troy is married with a small daughter. Gabriella is married and pregnant. They didn't keep in touch after school following a nasty break-up, but everyone knows that true love never dies.  
_**Genre:** _Drama/Romance  
_**Chapter: **_Chapter 2_

Gabriella was awakened a few days later by, once again, her annoying alarm clock. She groaned and rolled over, shutting it off, the same process she went through every day. Except today, she woke up excited. It was Saturday, and Nathaniel didn't have to work! She rolled onto her other side, expecting to see her husband next to her, but just saw an empty bed.

Her brow furrowed, Gabriella got out of bed and grabbed her robe from behind her closet door. She checked her calendar, but saw that it very much was Saturday.

She walked barefoot down the hall and into the kitchen, where she found Danielle already awake, cooking her eggs and bacon.

"Danielle, where's Nathaniel?"

Without turning around, Danielle answered, "Mr. Richards asked me to inform you that he had a very important conference in Boston that came up last minute. He'll be back Monday night."

Gabriella groaned and sat down in a kitchen chair. "Monday?"

Danielle nodded. "That's what Mr. Richards said."

Despite herself, Gabriella couldn't help but smile a little. "Danielle, how many times have I asked you to call Nathaniel by his first name?"

Danielle turned around to grab a plate, and Gabriella spied a grin on her lips. "Many times. I have no problem calling you 'Gabriella', but I just can't call Mr. Richards by his first name. I don't, er, know him well enough."

"Exactly. He's never around," Gabriella muttered as Danielle loaded her plate with bacon and eggs. Danielle salted the eggs quickly before setting the plate and a glass of milk in front of Gabriella.

"I'm sure he'll be around more when the baby is born." Danielle smiled and briefly rested her hand on Gabriella's stomach.

Gabriella instinctively put her hand on her stomach too. "I hope so."

That afternoon, Gabriella went back to the baby store, unable to control herself. She bought four more uni-sex newborn baby outfits, a yellow bumblebee blanket to match the dresser, and a yellow stuffed elephant.

Upon returning back home, Gabriella was greeted by Danielle, who said to her excitedly, "You got a call from Troy Bolton while you were out."

"What!?" exclaimed Gabriella, stunned. Gabriella had shared her stories of Troy with Danielle, but had purposely failed to mention their previous meeting.

"Yeah, the one from high school," said Danielle, grinning madly. "He left me his number and wants you to call him back."

"Wow..." said Gabriella softly. "I wonder what he wants." She strode into the kitchen and found the index card on which Danielle has scrawled Troy's number.

"I bet he wants to tell you he still loves you," Danielle informed her smugly. "Wait'll you rub it in his face that you're married, rich, and pregnant!" She laughed maliciously.

Gabriella grinned slightly. "I don't think so. I didn't tell you this before, but I saw him at the store the other day."

Danielle's jaw dropped in shock. "_What?_ You did? What happened?"

She shrugged. "We talked for a couple minutes. He's married with a one-year-old daughter."

The maid's mouth formed an 'o' shape. "Well, maybe he wants to catch up?" she suggested.

"Probably," Gabriella lamented. "Should I call him back?"

Danielle nodded encouragingly. "Yeah! It can't hurt, right?"

"I guess not," said Gabriella, sighing. She picked up the phone and said, "I'll be in my room." She grabbed the card with his number and walked down the hall to her room, closing the door behind her.

She stood in the middle of her room for a long moment, staring at the phone. She slowly dialed the number and stood listening to it ring, her eyes shut tight and praying that he wouldn't answer so she could just say she tried to call him back and not have to do it again.

Alas, her prayers were ignored. Troy answered on the third ring.

"Hey, Troy?" she said slowly. "It's Gabriella."

"Oh, hey!" he said happily. "I'm guessing you got the message I left with your maid?"

"Yeah," said Gabriella. There was a pause while neither one of them spoke. After a few seconds, Gabriella said, "Well, why'd you call?"

"Just wanted to say hi," he answered. After another silence, he added, "What do you say about grabbing lunch?"

"Today?" asked Gabriella, surprised.

"Yeah, why not? I'll have to bring Lauren, though."

"That's fine," said Gabriella earnestly. "I'd like to meet her."

"Alright. How about about Jeffrey's? Be there at one?"

"Sounds fine to me,"

"Great! See you then,"

"Bye,"

Gabriella hung up the phone in a daze. She was about to have lunch with Troy Bolton, her ex from high school that she wasn't sure she ever completely got over. She was about to go out to eat with a guy she still had some feelings for while they were both married to different people. She was about to go on a _date_ with a married man and his baby daughter.

She walked blindly into the kitchen, thinking hard, her eyes glazed over. She sat on a bar stool at the counter and vaguely heard Danielle say, "What would you like for lunch? I have some pasta in the cupboard, or I can make you a fruit salad..."

"No thanks," said Gabriella, staring off into space. "I'm going out to lunch."

"What?" asked Danielle, whipping around to see her employer with a far-away look in her eyes. "Are you going to lunch with _Troy Bolton?_" she whispered dramatically.

Gabriella finally tore her eyes away from whatever she had been looking at to glance at Danielle. She nodded.

Danielle squealed excitedly and asked, "When? What time?"

"One,"

Glancing at the clock, Danielle cried, "It's already 12:30! You need to go get ready!" She grabbed Gabriella's arm and started to drag her towards the master bedroom.

"Danielle!" Gabriella protested. "I'm not going on a date or anything! I'm married, for God's sake!"

"So?" Danielle pushed her in the bedroom. "You can still bedazzle him with your good looks to let him know what he gave up." She winked before slamming the doors shut.

Sighing, Gabriella walked into her closet. She didn't have enough time to shower, but luckily she'd showered the night before. She decided to wear a yellow and white flower-print strapless maternity dress and matching yellow sandals. She brushed her hair into a neat ponytail and slipped on earrings and a bracelet. After applying some sparse mascara and lip gloss, she grabbed her purse and a white sweater before leaving the room.

"Do I reach your standards?" asked Gabriella sarcastically, twirling mockingly for Danielle once she entered the kitchen.

Danielle beamed. "Yes!" she answered, clapping excitedly. "You look amazing. Troy is going to have a heart attack when he sees you."

"Yeah, yeah," said Gabriella, although she couldn't help but slightly flush at the comment. What if Troy _did_ tell her she looked attractive? "I'm going now!" she called out as she reached the front door.

"Behave yourself!" Danielle shouted back, a hint of amusement in her voice, as Gabriella left.

She hopped in her car and drove the few miles to the Italian restaurant, Jeffrey's, on the edge of Buffalo. After finding a parking space she got out of the car and entered the restaurant, looking around for Troy.

When she didn't see him, she strode to the back of the restaurant and poked her head out the door, glancing around at the outside tables. She saw him, but not until she'd done a double-take. She could see him, but most of him was obscured by a large stroller.

As Gabriella approached him, he caught sight of her and stood up, grinning. "Hey!" he greeted her when she reached him. He leaned forward to give her a hug.

She hugged Troy back and then sat down in the chair across from him. Their table was at the very edge of the courtyard, against a stone wall. To their right, in a space where normally a third chair would go, the stroller sat.

"This is Lauren," said Troy, sitting down as well and pointing to the child in the stroller.

Gabriella felt her breath catch in her throat – Lauren was the most adorable child she'd ever seen. She had a round, pale face, with chubby, rose-colored cheeks. Her small collection of nearly white-blonde hair was currently gathered into a water-fountain ponytail on the top of her head, secured by a pink ribbon. She had the exact same eyes as Troy – gorgeous blue lakes. She was banging happily on the tray in front of her stroller, where a few Cheerio's lay scattered, and when she smiled Gabriella spied three teeth – two on the top, one on the bottom.

"She's beautiful," Gabriella whispered.

Troy flushed. "Thanks." He reached out and caressed his daughter's cheek with his finger. In return, Lauren grabbed it and stuck it in her mouth. When she realized it wasn't food, she hit her hand down on the tray of her stroller, holding tightly onto her daddy's finger.

Regaining control of his finger, Troy turned his attention to Gabriella. "So. How are you?" he asked, wiping his finger dry with a napkin.

Gabriella held up her hand, rocking it side to side as if to say 'so-so.' "Being pregnant is certainly no picnic. Most of the time I get no sleep because this little guy – or girl – likes to have wild parties at night."

Troy chuckled. "Well, I wouldn't know what it's like to be pregnant, but I'm pretty sure it's all worth it." The two of them looked over at Lauren, who had picked up a Cheerio and was now examining it.

"I hope you don't misinterpret this, but how come you had to bring her?" Gabriella asked Troy. "It's Saturday. Where's your wife?"

"Working," said Troy simply.

"Oh. What does she do?"

"She's a lawyer," Troy explained. "She usually works every day of the week."

"Wow," said Gabriella sympathetically. "That's gotta be tough."

Troy nodded, not making eye contact wit her. "Yeah, it can be sometimes."

There was a small pause. "So... what do you do?"

His face brightened up and he stole another glance at Lauren. "I'm a stay at home dad, aren't I Lauren?" He reached down and tickled her under her chin, causing her to laugh. "Aren't I? Yes, I am!"

Lauren responded with a, "Da-da!"

Gabriella laughed at the cute display. Troy smiled up at her and added, "Not all of us have maids, though."

She smiled slightly back. Troy sat up straight again and asked, "What about you? What do you do?"

Gabriella shrugged. "I haven't done anything in a while, to be honest. I worked at a really successful real estate company for a number of years before I married Nathaniel. He works for a family business and makes a lot, so I don't work." She sighed.

Troy nodded, understandingly. The truth was, though, that Nathaniel didn't want her to work. When they got married, he forced her to quit her job, under the impression that women should stay home to serve their husbands. _And then he gets me a maid and is never home,_ Gabriella thought to herself bitterly. _I bet he wouldn't even notice if I got a job._

"Are you still in contact with everyone?" Troy asked abruptly, which brought up memories of their past.

_Oh yeah. Troy dumped me._

She nodded. "You aren't, are you?"

He shook his head sadly. "Mind catching me up?"

Gabriella shrugged. "I talk to Taylor and Chad at least once a week. I was the maid of honor at their wedding three years ago. Kelsi lives about an hour or so away – she writes Broadway shows. She and Jason broke up during college and she got together with Ryan – they're married now. Sharpay and Zeke are married, and, well, you probably know this, but Zeke has his own famous cooking show. He's like the new Rachel Ray, only not as annoying." She laughed. "Sharpay's a huge, A-list actress, which you also probably know. Zeke and his company usually cook for the events she goes to, like after-parties for the Oscar's and stuff. He's cooked for the president a couple of times."

Troy nodded. "My wife reads those tabloid magazines and thinks it's cool I knew Sharpay, but I really don't pay attention." He paused. "And Jason?"

"Jason... well, he's not doing so well," said Gabriella, sighing sympathetically. "He's currently in jail for cocaine possession."

"Jesus, really?" exclaimed Troy. "Wow."

She nodded. "We talk through letters. He'll be out in six months."

Troy whistled. "So, how long have Kelsi and Ryan and Sharpay and Zeke been married?"

Gabriella looked up to the sky, calculating. "Kelsi and Ryan... two and a half years. Sharpay and Zeke, five years. I was a bridesmaid at both weddings."

"Awesome. Do any of them have kids?"

Gabriella let out a small laugh. "Well, Sharpay and Zeke have fraternal twins, a boy and a girl, and so do Kelsi and Ryan."

"Both of them got twins?" Troy asked, and Gabriella could hear the hint of amusement in his voice.

She nodded. "Fraternal twins is something that runs in the family, so they both had a good chance of getting them anyway." She grinned.

"What are their names? Do Taylor and Chad have any kids? Do Sharpay and Ryan have any other kids?"

"Whoa, slow down." Gabriella giggled. "Sharpay and Zeke's kids are three, named Halyn and Arthur. They're so precious. They look a lot like Zeke, with dark skin and dark hair. They have Sharpay's eyes and facial features though. Kelsi and Ryan's twins are eighteen months. Colin looks exactly like Ryan and Chelsea looks just like Kelsi." She laughed. "Sharpay and Zeke want to have another baby but nothing's official yet. Taylor and Chad have two boys. Jessie is two and Kyle was just born a couple of weeks ago. I haven't seen him yet because they live in Florida and I'm not allowed to fly."

Troy nodded. "Wow. I sure missed a lot."

Gabriella narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, you did. But what I don't understand is _why?_"

"What do you mean, 'why'?"

She raised her eyebrows. "Well, why didn't you call us? Well, okay, I guess I know why you didn't call _me,_ but apparently you never got in touch with them either. What gives?"

Troy fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat and glanced at Lauren, who was eating Cheerio's. He looked back at Gabriella and saw that she was staring at him expectantly. "I don't know," he mumbled finally.

Gabriella just sighed and nodded. "You don't know. Of course." She looked away.

"Gabriella, I wanted to," said Troy earnestly, reaching over and placing his hand on top of hers. Gabriella blinked for a second, before jerking her hand away.

"What are you doing?" she asked, disgustedly.

Troy looked perplexed. "What do you mean?"

"You're married!" she hissed. "Your daughter is sitting right next to us. _I'm_ married and pregnant! You can't just hold my hand whenever you want to!"

He looked down, ashamed. "I'm sorry."

"I don't get you, Troy Bolton," said Gabriella, folding her arms across her chest.

A waitress came up to their table and said, "I'm sorry for the wait. Can I get you something to drink?"

"I'll just have an iced tea," said Gabriella, still watching Troy disapprovingly.

"I'll have coffee, please," Troy muttered. The waitress wrote down their drinks and strolled away.

There was a long awkward silence between them, broken only by Lauren's happy giggling. Gabriella watched Troy intently, but he deliberately avoided her eyes. Finally, she said, "How come you dumped me?"

Troy's face turned a shade lighter as he paled. Clearing his throat, he made eye contact with Gabriella and said quietly, "Gabriella, we discussed this..."

"First of all, no, we did not," Gabriella corrected him. "All _I_ remember was you not wanting to be 'tied down.' That's hardly a reason. And secondly, don't act like you didn't know this would come up during our 'catching up' period. Did you really think that just because I'm married I've forgotten about how much you hurt me when you dumped me right before I left for school?"

He didn't answer. As he was silent, the waitress returned with their drinks and Gabriella took a sip of her tea.

After a moment, she asked irritably, "Are you going to say something?"

Troy was silent for a moment before saying, "I have nothing to say because... I know you're right."

Gabriella blinked in surprise at him. "What?"

"I know you're right," he said, a little louder, looking at his daughter. He ran a hand down her face and she laughed happily. "My older cousin told me that going away to college with a girlfriend at a different school was a bad choice. He told me to break up with you. So I did."

Her mouth hung open.

"Although I never should have. Breaking up with you was the worst decision I've ever made in my entire life. I should never have listened to Hayden."

Gabriella closed her eyes and book a deep breath in and out, her arms still folded angrily in front of her chest. After a minutes she opened her eyes and spoke. "You could've told me this. You _should've_ told me this. I thought we could tell each other everything."

"Well, you ran out of the restaurant before I had a chance!" protested Troy.

"We live in the 21st century, Troy. Ever heard of phones? E-mails?"

"You could've called me!" he countered.

"_You_ broke up with _me,_ Troy. I did _not_ have to call you," Gabriella snapped. "Besides... you didn't come after me," she murmured before she could stop herself.

"Come again?"

"You didn't come after me when I left the restaurant," she repeated. "I figured that if you still cared about me, even a little bit, you would come after me. But you didn't." She stared determinedly at a burn spot on their table as she spoke.

"I didn't know you wanted me to," said Troy quietly.

"Oh, come on!" Gabriella exclaimed, glaring at him. "You dated me for two and a half years. How did you not know?"

Troy just shrugged and Gabriella sighed in frustration. After a short pause, she asked, "And how come you didn't keep in touch with anyone else?"

He shrugged again. "Truthfully, I don't know why. Looking back on it, I think 'what is wrong with you?', you know? I definitely should have. Could you tell them I'm sorry?"

"Why don't you tell them?" she asked quietly.

Troy looked up and locked eyes with her. Before he could answer, the waitress came back to take their orders. The two of them just ordered a simple salad, and once the waitress left, silence fell.

Finally, Troy said, "I really don't think they'd be happy to hear from me after all these years."

"Of course they would!" argued Gabriella. "I mean, sure, they might be a little mad, but they'll be happy to know that you're at least alive and happy."

Troy gave a half-shrug. "I don't know."

"Come on!" Gabriella protested. She held out her hand and demanded, "Gimme your cell phone."

"What? Why?"

"Please?"

Troy sighed. "Okay, here..."

Gabriella flipped it open and programmed the Danforth's, the Evans's, and the Baylor's numbers in his phone, the numbers of which Gabriella had memorized. When she was done she handed the phone back to him and demanded, "Call them soon. Okay?"

He cracked a small smile. "Fine."

After their food came, Gabriella and Troy had a nice lunch, discussing what college had been like, where they'd met their respective spouses, and what life in general was like. Gabriella was absolutely infatuated with Lauren, and kept tickling her. She had the most adorable laugh.

Not long after, they were finished with their small lunch and split the bill. With great difficulty, Troy managed to steer the large stroller out of the restaurant with Gabriella trailing, a slight grin on her face and well aware that all the people staring at them as they left were under the assumption that they were a happy little family.

"It was nice talking to you, Troy," Gabriella said honestly as they stood on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant.

"You too. Maybe we can do it again sometime?"

"Definitely!" Gabriella smiled. "I've love to meet Devon."

"And I'd love to meet Nathaniel," added Troy, although Gabriella doubted that would happen any time soon. In order to meet someone, they actually had to be around.

But all she said was "Sure" before they parted ways. Gabriella watched for a minute, in her car, while Troy tickled Lauren after placing her in his car seat. _What a great dad,_ she thought to herself.

_If only Nathaniel could be more like Troy._


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:** This chapter is boring.

**Title: **_With You  
_**Rating:** _T  
_**Author: **_MadiWillow  
_**Summary: **_Troy is married with a small daughter. Gabriella is married and pregnant. They didn't keep in touch after school following a nasty break-up, but everyone knows that true love never dies.  
_**Genre:** _Drama/Romance  
_**Chapter: **_Chapter 3_

Gabriella went on with her life normally for the next few days. None of her friends called, leading her to believe that Troy had yet to contact them. She felt sure that if he had, many of them, or at least Taylor, would call her to tell her about it.

Nathaniel returned home on Monday night, as planned, at 10 p.m., which Gabriella noticed was earlier than usual. The next morning he didn't have to be at work until noon, so the two of them went out to breakfast.

Gabriella loved Nathaniel, she really did. He gave her a great home. But the fact that he wasn't actually _at_ home with her that often was a hard fact that Gabriella didn't like accepting. They usually had such a nice time together when he was home – when he wasn't making out with his cell phone and talking down to her, that is – and she wished that he could somehow manage to get more flexible hours. After all, he worked for his dad. Surely he could find a way to work less, to spend time with his wife before the birth of their first chid?

In addition, Gabriella found that she couldn't get Troy out of her head. She felt like an awful person because she still had feelings for him, and she hated herself for it. She wished she could be normal; a normal woman, normally married to her lovely, normal husband, normally pregnant with her first child, normally not still in love – no, not love, in _like_ – with her normal, old high school sweetheart.

But she was. She couldn't deny it.

Nathaniel phoned Gabriella around three o' clock on Tuesday, telling her he had to go out of town again, for a week. He had to go to Hawaii for a big important conference. Depressed, Gabriella stayed in bed all of Tuesday while Danielle tried to cheer her up.

"Come on, Gabriella. Let's go out to dinner!" Danielle persisted, perched on the edge of Gabriella's bed where the second woman was curled up in a ball, facing the spot where Nathaniel normally lay.

"I don't want to," she mumbled.

Danielle sighed. "Well, alright. I'll let you stay in bed for today, but tomorrow, I am going to _make_ you do something." She got up and Gabriella turned onto her other side.

"What do you mean, you're going to 'make me'?" questioned Gabriella. "I'm your boss. I could fire you, you know!"

The employee smiled sweetly at her employer. "But you won't," she said, grinning, before turning around and sauntering out of the room.

Gabriella rolled her eyes before turning over and falling into a deep sleep.

That night, she had a very interesting dream. She dreamt she was standing in the middle of a deserted hallway at Buffalo Hospital. The sight was strangely eerie to her, giving her the vibe of a bad thriller movie. She shivered. Footsteps echoed behind her, leading her to believe that a whole crowd of people were somehow inside the empty hallway.. Whipping her head around, she saw that it was only Nathaniel, standing with his hand held out. "Come on, Gabriella," he urged her, his voice echoing. "Come on, this way."

"Where are you going to take me?" she asked nervously, backing slowly away from her husband.

"Just come on," he said softly.

"No!"

She turned around and came face to face with Troy. She gasped. Troy said soothingly, "Shh, it's okay. Just come on." He, too, held out his hand to her.

Gabriella looked behind her and saw Nathaniel, slowly making his way towards her, his hand still held out. His footsteps continued to echo throughout the near-empty hospital.

For some reason, Gabriella felt scared with Nathaniel's presence. She looked back at Troy and felt protected. She felt safe with him.

"Take my hand, Gabriella," the two men said at the same time, their voices blended together as one.

She took one more glance back at Nathaniel before facing Troy again. She reached out her hand – she was going to take his –

"Gabriella. Gabriella!"

She shot up in bed, breathing deeply. She turned her head and found herself touching noses with Danielle.

Gabriella screamed and fell back on the bed, panting. "Danielle!" she gasped, one hand over her heart and the other resting on her pregnant stomach. "What do you think you're doing!? You're lucky I didn't go into an early labor!"

Danielle waved her comment aside. "You were talking in your sleep. It was weird. You were, like, _moaning_ the names 'Troy' and 'Nathaniel'." Danielle winked.

Gabriella flushed in embarrassment. Deciding to ignore the statements, she snapped, "I didn't set my alarm for a reason!"

"Hey, it's eleven o' clock," Danielle defended herself. "It's about time you woke up. Besides," her eyes twinkled, "to speak of the devil, Troy is on the phone."

The older woman sat up straight again. "What!?" she exclaimed. "Really?"

Danielle nodded. "Yup. Should I bring you the phone, madame?"

Gabriella shook her head up and down furiously. "Yes, please!"

Danielle chuckled as she left the room, only to return a moment later with the phone held against her ear. "Sorry for the wait, Mr. Bolton. Mrs. Richards is a very deep sleeper."

Once she was in reaching distance, Gabriella snatched away the phone from her maid, glaring at her. Danielle flashed her trademark innocent smile before bustling out of the room.

"H-hey, Troy," stuttered Gabriella into the phone. _You're acting like a love-struck teenager!_ She scolded herself. _Stop it! You're a married, grown woman. Act like one._

"Hi, Gabriella," Troy's deep voice floated through the earpiece. "Did I wake you?"

She shrugged. "Well, yeah. But that's okay. I guess it's about time I woke up." She stole a glance at her bedside clock, which read 11:09.

He laughed. "I remember, back in high school, your mom enlisted my help in waking you up every morning on weekends and vacations. She made me call you at eight so you wouldn't over sleep."

Gabriella smiled slightly at the memory. "Yeah..."

"Hey, how is your mom?" Troy inquired. "Does she still live in Albuquerque?"

"Um, no," answered Gabriella uncomfortably. She fingered the beads on her comforter distractedly. "Uh... she died a couple years ago. Car accident."

Troy gasped on the other end. "Oh, my gosh, I am _so_ sorry, Gabriella!" he apologized quickly.

"No, no, it's okay," she assured him. "You had no way of knowing."

"Well, I guess that's my fault too," he muttered sheepishly.

Cracking a smile, Gabriella remembered something. "How come you haven't called anyone yet?"

"Well... how do you know I haven't?" Troy challenged.

Gabriella laughed. "Because Taylor would've called me, screaming."

"Oh, yes, of course," Troy laughed too. "Well, I'm not sure why I haven't yet. I guess it just feels weird. I know that some of them – namely Chad – aren't going to be too happy with me."

"Well, the longer you wait, the worse it gets," Gabriella reminded him.

"Yeah, you're probably right,"

There was a moment's silence before Gabriella said, "So, um, not to be rude or anything, Troy, but why are you calling?"

Gabriella could imagine him shrugging as he said, "Oh, no reason. I just wanted to hear your voice I guess."

She felt her face heat up and forgot for a minute how old she was. Her body felt light and she felt like she was floating; the same way she felt when Troy had said stuff like that to her back in high school.

And then Gabriella remembered.

"Troy... you're married,"

She heard Troy sigh on the other end. "I know," he said quietly.

Gabriella suddenly felt very uncomfortable. She didn't want to talk to him anymore. "I gotta go Troy," she said quickly and hung up before he could respond. The phone slipped from her hand and bounced on the bed as she let her head fall back onto her pillows.

There was a knock on her bedroom door. "Gabriella, breakfast."

Gabriella sat back up and crossed her legs under the covers. Danielle entered and set down a tray of pancakes and milk next to her. She was about to leave when Gabriella stopped her. "Danielle, sit down," she said, gesturing to a spot in front of her.

"What's up?" asked Danielle as she sat down near Gabriella's feet..

Gabriella took a sip of her milk before exclaiming, "I'm a horrible, awful person!" and bursting into tears.

"What!?" cried Danielle. She leaned over, moving closer to her employer. "Shh, don't cry," she said soothingly as she hugged her, rocking back and forth as Gabriella continued to cry. "You're not a horrible person."

Gabriella nodded, tears splashing down her front. "Yes, I am."

"And what exactly makes you such a terrible human being?" Danielle inquired, tucking a piece of hair behind Gabriella's ears."

"I-," she stammered. "I think I still have feelings for Troy."

There was a moment's pause before Danielle burst out laughing. Shocked, Gabriella stopped crying, and stared at her maid, who was doubled over in a fit of laughter.

"I fail to see the humor in this situation," stated Gabriella, hiccuping slightly.

After a moment, Danielle regained control of herself. "It's just that-," she let out another small laugh. "-it doesn't make you a horrible person if you still have a little crush on your ex-boyfriend, Gabriella." She shook her head, grinning. "You're too innocent, it's just funny."

Ignoring the last comment, Gabriella said quietly, "Whoever said it was a 'little crush'?"

Danielle blinked. "No one, but surely-?"

Gabriella shook her head, her eyes focused on a spot of carpet somewhere to the left of the blonde sitting in front of her.

Said blonde gasped. "No!"

Gabriella sniffled, finally looking at her friend, and nodded ever so slightly. "I think I might still love him."

Danielle's hands were covering her open mouth. "Oh, my God."

"I don't think I ever _stopped_ loving him," explained Gabriella quietly, as much to herself as to Danielle. "I mean, we left off so strangely. We never got to talk about where we stood or how we felt about each other. I think I just learned to keep his love to a minimal, you know? I learned to deal with it and allowed myself to love again. And then when I saw him again, that small portion of love I had for him just burst out of me." She sniffled again. "And now he says things to me that make me feel like he might love me still too."

"So marry him," Danielle spoke up. Gabriella sent her a look, and she added, "Come on, Gabriella! He loves you, you love him. What's stopping you?"

"What's stopping us?" scoffed Gabriella incredulously. "How about the fact that we're both married? The fact that he has a child and I'm bearing one? Maybe _that's_ what's stopping us?!"

"Ah, but you see, that's where the amazing process called 'divorce' comes into play," said Danielle, winking.

"Danielle! How can you be taking this so lightly!?" asked Gabriella. "I can't just _divorce_ Nathaniel!"

"Why not?" challenged Danielle. "Come on, tell me why."

Gabriella skirted around answering. "You can't just throw the word divorce around like it's nothing. It's a huge process. It's not just something you decide to do one morning when you think you might still be in love with someone else."

"But you just explained to me that you _are_ still in love with him," Danielle pointed out.

"That doesn't mean he still loves me!"

"You just said he does!"

"Well-" Gabriella searched her mind for an excuse. "-maybe he loves his wife more!"

Danielle raised an eyebrow. "If he has eyes and a brain, I don't see _how_ that's possible."

The dark-haired woman sighed.

"Gabriella." Danielle leaned in closer to her boss. "I hate saying this, but you don't love Nathaniel. I've known for a while now, but I didn't want to say anything because I didn't know how you'd react. But you don't. It's pretty obvious. You shouldn't divorce Nathaniel for Troy, but for yourself."

The expectant-mother didn't answer right away. "But I'm pregnant... maybe things will get better when the baby is born?"

Danielle mimicked Gabriella's sigh and stood up. "I think you know as well as I do that bringing children into a bad marriage is _never_ good." With that she left, leaving Gabriella to ponder her messed up life.

Gabriella ate a little bit of the breakfast that Danielle has made for her but the pancakes tasted like rubber, so she only ended up eating half of one. She stumbled out of bed and into the shower, loving the feeling of the hot water on her aching body. She allowed the water to wash her current troubles down the drain as she washed her hair. She let the water cascade over her body for forty-five minutes before finally getting out. Not feeling like getting dressed, she just put on a fluffy pink bathrobe over her naked body and a pair of matching slippers, her soaked hair dripping onto the carpet. Gabriella noticed that her tray of abandoned breakfast hadn't been cleared by Danielle yet, so she did the honor of bringing it into the kitchen.

Danielle wasn't in the kitchen, so Gabriella decided to wash the dishes for her. As she was finishing, Danielle walked in, her hair damp from just having taken a shower as well. "Hey, I was gonna do-" she started, but Gabriella held up a hand.

"It was nothing." She smiled slightly, and Danielle returned the gesture.

The phone rang, making both of them jump. Danielle answered it with a "Richards residence" and listening patiently for a moment. Her eyes widened with excitement as she said, "Just a moment, Mr. Bolton." She lowered the phone from her ear and covered the mouthpiece with her hand, hiding the phone behind her back. She whispered loudly, "It's Troy!"unnecessarily.

Gabriella stared at Danielle and bit her lower lip. She was about to tell Danielle to inform Troy that she was unavailable, but thought better of it. _I can't avoid him._ She slowly reached out her hand, beckoning for the phone.

Danielle brought the phone back to her hear and said, smiling widely, "Here she is, Mr. Bolton," before handing the phone to her employer.

Said employer took the phone and brought it up to her hear, saying with forced-casualty, "H-Hey, Troy."

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for what I said before," said Troy quickly, as if afraid she might hang up on him. "You're right, I shouldn't be acting that way."

"It's okay, Troy," said Gabriella. "Really, it's fine."

"You're sure?" asked Troy cautiously.

Gabriella giggled, "Of course!"

Troy sighed with relief. "That's good. I forgot this earlier, but I called you before because I told Devon that I met up with you again and she really wants to meet you."

"Oh?" Gabriella felt jealousy stir inside of her, but ignored it. "Well, do guys wanna come over tonight? I'm sure we could whip something up." She winked at Danielle, who grinned back.

"Yeah, 'we'," she joked.

"Well, the thing is, Devon has to work this whole week. But maybe I can call you later and we could set something up?"

"Sure, that'd be great," said Gabriella enthusiastically. "And when Nathaniel has a night off, I'll call you."

"Sounds good," said Troy. "Talk to you later?"

"Of course. Bye."

Gabriella hung up the phone and said casually to Danielle, "We're gonna try and plan a few get-together's so I can meet Devon and Troy can meet Nathaniel."

"So I heard!" grinned Danielle devilishly.

The pregnant woman just rolled her eyes, smiling.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN:** I like this chapter. Sooo much drama omg! But yeah... thanks for the reviews, review again, yadda yadda yadda.

PS: I'M GOING TO THE JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE CONCERTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**Title: **_With You  
_**Rating:** _T  
_**Author: **_MadiWillow  
_**Summary: **_Troy is married with a small daughter. Gabriella is married and pregnant. They didn't keep in touch after school following a nasty break-up, but everyone knows that true love never dies.  
_**Genre:** _Drama/Romance  
_**Chapter: **_Chapter 4_

"I have no interest in meeting your ex-boyfriend's family."

Gabriella rolled her eyes in exasperation at her husband's stubbornness. It was a Monday night, the first night off her tanned, brunette husband had had since Gabriella had talked to Troy the week before, and she was trying to convince him to go to dinner with them. But, alas, Nathaniel's low self-confidence forbade him from being threatened by his wife's old love interest.

She sighed. "Come on, Nathaniel. Why not?"

"I just want a dinner with you and me tonight," he told her firmly, but this statement just caused Gabriella to roll her eyes again.

"You mean you, me, and your cell phone," she spat.

Nathaniel glared at her and held up his index finger, pointing it threateningly at her. "Watch your mouth."

Gabriella was taken slightly aback from Nathaniel's forward remark, but was pulled out of her reverie when Danielle poked her head in the room and said, "Mrs. Richards, telephone."

Against Gabriella's wishes, Danielle refused to call her by her first name in Nathaniel's presence, afraid he would deem it 'unprofessional' and fire her. Gabriella told her that as long as she was around, she would never allow Danielle to be fired, although Danielle would always slyly remind her that it was Nathaniel's income that was paying her.

Gabriella took the phone and said, "Hello?", turning her back to Nathaniel.

"Hey Gabriella," came Troy's voice from the other line. "I wanted to ask you if we could do dinner tonight. Devon has the night off."

"Tonight? Sure!" said Gabriella, turning back to face Nathaniel. "You know, my husband has the night off too. I'll ask him about tonight." She put her hand over the mouthpiece and said sweetly, in a loud enough voice for Troy to hear through her hand, "Nathaniel? Would you like to go to dinner with Troy and Devon tonight?"

Nathaniel clenched his teeth. Gabriella knew that the one thing Nathaniel hated above anything else was when people weren't impressed with him, and turning down a dinner date would definitely not go over well in his book. "Fine," he said shortly before storming into the bathroom.

Gabriella smiled and put the phone back to her ear. "We'd love to!" she said perkily. "But how about you guys come here? That way you won't have to find a baby-sitter for Lauren and all that. Danielle can watch her while we eat."

"Great!" said Troy. "We'll come at 7?"

"See you then," and after receiving her address, Troy hung up.

At seven o' clock sharp, the doorbell rang. Danielle, who was caught up in organizing their three-course meal, was unable to answer it, so Gabriella did for her. Troy and Devon were standing in the doorway, arms around each other, looking like a picture-perfect family. Gabriella felt an uncontrolled surge of jealousy run through her before she was able to contain herself.

Lauren was sitting in the same stroller than Gabriella had seen her in before, and her hair was up in the water-fountain ponytail again. "Hello," said Gabriella politely, standing back so Devon could wheel the stroller into the foyer. "You must be Devon." Gabriella held out her hand.

Once Devon had gotten the stroller inside, she shook Gabriella's hand. "And you're Gabriella!" she smiled sweetly. Devon had the same olive skin and white blonde hair as Lauren, but had brown eyes instead of blue. She looked like she could be model; she was tall, skinny, and had a confidence to her that made Gabriella feel inferior. "Wow, Troy didn't describe you as being this beautiful!"

Gabriella blushed at the comment and looked at Troy. He glanced at the ground sheepishly.

"When are you due?" asked Devon, seemingly oblivious to the tension. Gabriella subconsciously ran her hands over her ever-growing stomach.

"Five-and-a-half weeks," said Gabriella proudly. "June 22nd."

Devon beamed. "Isn't is just the best feeling in the world? Knowing that you're carrying yours and your soulmates child?" Devon glowed at Troy, who looked more uncomfortable than ever.

_It should feel good,_ said Gabriella to herself. _But I just don't know..._ "Yeah, it is."

Gabriella then realized that Nathaniel had not come to greet their guests, so she excused herself and walked down the hall into the family room. Nathaniel was in the same position Gabriella had left him in; sitting on the couch and watching a basketball game. "Nathaniel!" hissed Gabriella. "Come greet your guests!"

Nathaniel glared at his wife, but didn't want to act like a prude. He grudgingly switched off the TV and walked into the foyer, where Troy was holding a giggling Lauren and Devon had the diaper bag. "Is there any special place to put the stroller?" asked Devon courteously.

"No, there's fine," said Gabriella warmly. It was hard to dislike Devon; she was so nice and sincere. But at the same time, she was married to Troy... "Troy, Devon, I'd like you to meet my husband, Nathaniel."

"Nice to meet you, Nathaniel," said Devon, smiling, as she shook Nathaniel's hand. He nodded and mumbled a stern greeting before turning to Troy.

The two men shook hands a little awkwardly, as Troy was holding his daughter. Nathaniel eyed him with distaste; it worried Gabriella, so she proposed, "Why don't we take our seats?"

She led their guests into the dining room, where Danielle was almost done setting out the appetizers.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Bolton," said Danielle professionally as they entered. "My name's Danielle, and I'll be your server this evening." A smile lingered playfully on her lips. "And this must be Lauren!" she cooed, tickling the little girl under the chin so that she erupted into more giggles. "There's a highchair set up in the kitchen for our own little one coming soon, so if you want I'll feed and play with her in there to give you four some 'adult time.'"

"Well, if it's not too much trouble," said Devon.

"Oh, not at all!" cried Danielle, taking the diaper bag from Devon and the child from Troy. "I just love little babies, yes I do!" she said to Lauren, tickling her again.

As Danielle was leaving, Devon called after her, "There's food and a bottle in the bag!" before they all took their seats. Gabriella and Nathaniel sat next to each other on one side while Devon and Troy sat across from them.

The adults engaged in small talk, which led them all the way through the appetizers and the main-course meal. Nathaniel actually seemed to be enjoying himself; he and Troy were talking about the NBA playoffs while Devon and Gabriella talked about babies.

"I grew up with four younger brothers," Devon explained as they finished up the dinner with an apple-pie. "I pretty much raised them, so it was a big difference having a girl. Do you guys know the sex yet?"

Gabriella shook her head. "No, we're waiting."

Devon nodded. "Just a heads-up; if you have a boy, watch out. If you're changing your diaper and they pee, _duck._"

The two girls burst out laughing, causing the men to send them strange looks. "Really?" asked Gabriella, still laughing. "You actually have to duck?"

Devon nodded again, also chuckling. "I can't tell you how many times I forgot about that when I was younger. I got peed on all the time!" She giggled. "But with girls, you don't have to. It was funny the first time it happened. Since she's our first, we would always change her diaper at the same time – it's something most new parents do, you know, because it's such a big thing," Devon added pointedly. Gabriella nodded, although she doubted she and Nathaniel would change diapers together. "But anyway, one time she peed while we were changing her and, by instinct, I ducked." She grinned. "Troy looked at me like I was _insane._"

Gabriella smiled back, hating Devon for bearing Troy's child and being around him long enough for him to give her insane looks.

It was then that she tuned into Troy and Nathaniel's conversation. "...so damn controlling sometimes, you know?"

Troy looked uncomfortable as he answered, "Well, I don't know..."

"Come on, man, you dated her!" said Nathaniel, laughing.

Gabriella narrowed her eyes. "Who are you talking about?"

"You," said Nathaniel nonchalantly. Gabriella opened her mouth in exasperation as she saw, in the corner of her eye, Troy and Devon exchange worried looks.

"Excuse me?"

Nathaniel faced her and said slowly, as if talking to a dim child, "We're. Talking. About. You."

"But... why?"

"Well, I was just about to tell Troy about how you always make me do what _you_ want!" said Nathaniel hotly. He turned back to Troy and said, "Do you know how big of a fight she puts up whenever I got out of town? I mean, it's like, come on! Get used to it!"

Troy glanced at Gabriella, who, due to her hormones, looked borderline tears. "Look, Nathaniel, I don't think we should-"

"I don't do that, Nathaniel!" snapped Gabriella, accidentally interrupting Troy.

Nathaniel rolled his eyes and glanced pointedly at Devon and Troy, as if what he was saying made complete sense. "Yes, you do. For the past few months, you keep complaining about how often I go away, how I'm never home anymore, blah blah blah."

Gabriella opened her mouth angrily. "Nathaniel! I'm _pregnant_!" she screeched. "You should _want_ to spend time with me! I'm carrying our CHILD!"

"The kid isn't even out yet," said Nathaniel, waving away her comment. "Once it's born, I'll try and free up my schedule.

"Try? _Try_!?" cried Gabriella, standing up. "Nathaniel, you _will_ make time!"

Nathaniel stood up, knocking his chair backward so violently that it crashed down on the hard-wood floor. He put his face right in front of his wife's and roared, "You will not talk to me that way! I am your husband! If I won't be around all the time, then I won't be here! And there's nothing you can say about it!" He turned on his heel and stormed out of the dining room, leaving behind an echoing silence.

Shaking, Gabriella slowly sat back down in her chair and put her face in her hands, pressing down hard on her closed eyes. Her head was spinning from Nathaniel. Could he be more fucking inconsiderate?

She could vaguely hear a whispered conversation between Troy and Devon, followed by the squeak of moving chairs. She heard the shuffling of feet as the other couple left the room and the low rumble of voices in the kitchen as Devon and Troy explained to Danielle what had happened. A moment later, Gabriella heard Devon say, "Gabriella... um, we're gonna go." Gabriella didn't move. She was so angry at Nathaniel that she was afraid of she looking at Devon, fearing that she'd explode. "I'll talk to you later... okay?" There was still no answer so after a moment she heard Devon leave and another moment later the front door closed.

"Gabriella?" said Danielle gently as she entered the dining room. "Gabriella... what's wrong?"

Gabriella just felt everything explode inside of her as she stood up quickly and screamed, "Nathaniel! Nathaniel is what's wrong!" She roughly pushed past Danielle and half-ran into their bedroom, only to find Nathaniel packing a suitcase.

"W-what are you doing?" she asked slowly as her anger turned rapidly into fear.

"Packing," he said gruffly. He snapped his suitcase shut and walked around her out the door, hitting her in the knee with his suitcase in the process. Gabriella cried out in pain and bent over, but Nathaniel kept on walking. Sucking in a deep breath, Gabriella walked after him.

Nathaniel made his way to the front door with Gabriella hot on his heels. "Nathaniel, please! We can work this out! Just, please, don't go!"

"My flight leaves at one," he said nastily as he gripped the doorknob.

"Flight? What flight?" she cried.

"I'm going to Washington for a week," he explained shortly. He opened the door and the cool, May night air blew inside.

"Nathaniel, I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow!"

He turned and glared. "So?"

"It's for our child! You haven't been to any appointments yet! Don't you want to come to at least _one_?"

Nathaniel pretended to think before saying, "No. Why should I go to the doctors? So we can sit in the waiting room for an hour for a two minute appointment so the doctor can say 'you have a healthy child'?"

"_Yes_!" pleaded Gabriella, tears starting to pour down her face. "Nathaniel, please-"

"I'll see you in a week," he interrupted, stepping outside and slamming the door behind him.

Gabriella stared at the door in shock for a moment before breaking down. She sobbed loudly, letting out all the despair and frustration she'd been feeling towards Nathaniel ever since they married, including all her confusion over Troy. She let it all out; sniffling and sputtering through her tears, gasping for breath as she wept into her arms. How had she put up with Nathaniel for all that time? How could she have been so blind as to not see this side of him?

"Shh, come on," said Danielle softly in Gabriella's ear. She helped her up and led her into the living room, lying her down on the couch and retreating into the kitchen to get her a glass of water.

Gabriella continued to cry softly, tears rolling down her face and ripping of her chin. "That's it," she sputtered. "I'm going to file for divorce."

"Really?" said Danielle, sitting on the edge of the couch with a glass of ice-cold water. She handed it to Gabriella, who took a sip and nodded.

"I just... can't take this anymore," she said quietly. "He treats me like shit. He doesn't give a rats-ass about this baby. I don't want him in my life anymore, or my child's. I don't care how hard it is to be a single mother; better that than raising him or her with Nathaniel."

Danielle nodded understandingly. They sat in silence for a long time until the phone rang, causing them to jump. Danielle bustled over to answer it, and glanced at Gabriella as the person on the other line spoke. "It's Troy," she whispered.

Gabriella closed her eyes, took a deep breath, but nodded anyway. As Danielle gave her the phone, she opened her eyes again and said, "H-hello?"

"Gabriella? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she answered, with false happiness.

"No, you're not. I can tell. I dated you for two and a half years."

"Are you sure you should be saying this in front of Devon?" asked Gabriella, cooler than she meant.

"She's not here," Troy explained. "On the way home she got a call from her partner and she has to work tonight. She dropped me and Lauren off before going to her office. We just got home."

"Oh," was all Gabriella could say.

"So... how are you?"

Gabriella could no longer take it. She burst into tears again as Troy listened patiently on the other line. "N-Nathaniel is leaving on a business trip t-to Washington f-for a week!" she sobbed. "And I-I have a doctor's ap-appointment tomorrow. He-he hasn't b-been to one yet!"

"I'm so sorry, Gabriella," said Troy quietly.

"Th-this is just not h-how I imagined wh-where I'd be while p-pregnant-" Gabriella trailed off as she gasped.

"Gabriella?" Troy asked, concerned. "Gabriella, are you okay?"

"Troy," said Gabriella quietly, while Danielle perked up listening in the other room. "Troy, my... my water just broke."


	5. Chapter 5

**AN:** LMAO. I love how I go from getting 9 reviews in chapter 3 and 31 for chapter 4. ;-) Thanks to much everyone. I hope you like this chapter, I know I do.

Let's try and reach the 100 mark, eh?

Oh and I was feeling extra, super-duper generous today, so I decided to post this now instead of waiting till tonight to post it (it's three o' clock here).

**Title: **_With You  
_**Rating:** _T  
_**Author: **_MadiWillow  
_**Summary: **_Troy is married with a small daughter. Gabriella is married and pregnant. They didn't keep in touch after school following a nasty break-up, but everyone knows that true love never dies.  
_**Genre:** _Drama/Romance  
_**Chapter: **_Chapter 5_

"Oh, my God, Troy!" exclaimed Gabriella, starting to panic as Danielle ran into the bedroom to pack a suitcase. "Troy! I'm in labor!"

"Okay, Gabriella, just calm down," said Troy. "Devon went into labor at home too – you just need to breathe in slowly, and breathe out-"

"Troy!" screeched Gabriella. "I'm not due for another 5-and-a-half weeks! I can't be in labor!" Gabriella started to cry again. "Troy, make it stop!"

"I can't Gabriella," said Troy, his voice cracking. He sounded like he was starting to panic himself. "Don't worry. Premature babies have lived before-"

Gabriella started to sob. "My baby is premature! My baby might die!"

"Should Lauren and I meet you at the hospital?" asked Troy weakly, trying carefully to not say the wrong thing. "For support?"

"Yes, Troy, please," cried Gabriella.

At that moment Danielle entered, dragging a suitcase behind her. She ripped the phone from Gabriella and said, "Sorry, Troy, we have to go." As she hung up, a contraction hit Gabriella.

She gasped in pain and doubled over as what felt like a cramp magnified ten times hit her in the abdomen. She held her hands over her stomach until it passed a moment later. "Oh, my God, the baby's coming!" moaned Gabriella.

"Come on, let's go." Danielle helped her up. Just as they were getting into the car, another contraction hit Gabriella. She gritted her teeth with the pain until it passed.

"Baby's coming _now_!" she said again, breathing in deeply as Danielle climbed into the driver's seat and started the car.

"Here, call your husband," said Danielle, handing Gabriella her phone as she sped down their street. Gabriella didn't even say anything about her speeding, she was too out of it.

She speed-dialed Nathaniel's cell phone number and listened to it ring and ring with no answer. Finally she reached the voice mail and left a shaky message. "Nathaniel, it's Gabriella. I know you have to leave soon for a conference or whatever, but... I'm in labor. The baby is coming, and fast." As if on cue, she was hit by a third contraction. After a moment of groaning in pain, she came out of it and realized the phone was still recording. "Please, just come to the hospital," she said shakily before hanging up.

It took them five minutes to reach the hospital in what should have been a ten minute drive. Danielle helped Gabriella slowly walk into the reception area, leaving the suitcase in the car for the time being. Gabriella was rushed into the closest available room the hospital had and, after a nurse helped her into a gown, they checked her dilation.

"She's already at four," the nurse explained, marking something on a sheet of paper. "Mrs. Richards, if you'd like an epidural, you need one now."

Gabriella furiously nodded. She was already starting to sweat, and if this was only four centimeters, she could barely begin to dream what ten would feel like.

"We'll call in the anaesthesiologist," the nurse said before she left the room. Danielle pulled Gabriella's hair back into a bun to try and keep her cool while a nurse got a cold washcloth for Gabriella to dab onto her forehead. Gabriella was groaning from the after-effects of her contractions.

"Danielle... where is he?" she moaned.

"I don't know, Gabriella, he won't answer his phone!" cried Danielle, her voice an octave higher than normal.

"No, not him... Troy... where's Troy..." said Gabriella, feeling woozy.

Danielle pursed her lips but didn't answer.

"I'm sorry, Miss, er.." faltered the nurse, glancing at Danielle.

"Jenkins," supplied Danielle.

"Miss Jenkins, I'm sorry but you'll have to leave us alone for a moment," said the nurse. Danielle looked apologetically at Gabriella before kissing her comfortingly on the forehead and exiting.

"Okay, Mrs. Richards, when is your due date?"

Instead of answering, Gabriella asked, through gritted teeth, "Where's my doctor? Dr. Sebold?"

"She's on vacation," said the nurse, filling out a form on her clipboard. "I'm guessing you aren't due for a while?"

"No, not until June 22nd," answered Gabriella. "Is my baby going to be okay?"

"We can't know that until it's born," said the nurse sympathetically. "I'll be right back, I'm going to find your file."

Gabriella was sweating profusely. She felt like she was already drained of energy. Her arms were limp at her side and she was panting, as if she'd just ran a marathon. She hated being in this gloomy hospital room alone; she felt very uncomfortable.

Just as another contraction started, Troy ran in the room. "Gabriella, I got here as soon as I-" he started before noticing her red face and clenched teeth. He rushed over and grabbed her hand, trying to soothe her. "Breathe in, breathe out," he said quietly, demonstrating for her. She tried his strategy, but it barely lessened her pain. After a moment it passed.

Her head fell back against her pillow. "I'm already so exhausted," she said, breathing deeply. "I don't know how I'm going to do this..."

"You can do it," Troy assured her. "Are you getting medications? Because according to Devon, they helped _a lot_."

Gabriella nodded weakly. "The nurse said an anaesthesiologist was coming..."

The nurse returned for a third time, holding a file. She glanced at Troy and then said, "Who are you, sir?"

"Oh, I'm a friend,"

"I'm sorry, but only family can be in here at this time," the nurse explained.

"Oh, but-" pleaded Gabriella. "I don't know where my husband is and I don't have any other family. Please, let him stay! I can't do this alone!"

The nurse eyed them for a moment before relenting. "Well, I guess it's alright." She opened up Gabriella's file and read through it. "Hmm... okay, yes... the sex is unknown to you... due June 22nd... the baby looks healthy..." She looked up. "Mrs. Richards, do you have any idea of what could've caused this premature labor?"

"I-I think it's because my husband and I got into a fight," she explained. "We've been having problems for a while and I was really stressed..."

"Hm, yes, stress can cause premature labor," said the nurse thoughtfully.

"Is that a bad thing?" asked Gabriella nervously.

"It can be, but lots of babies are born this early. We don't encourage it, of course, but it usually isn't life-threatening."

A doctor walked into the room, holding a shot with a long needle in her hands. "Hello, I'm Dr. Picoult, I'm here to administer to epidural."

Gabriella breathed a sigh of relief. Troy turned his head as the doctor injected the needle into Gabriella's spine, but he continued to grip her hand. Compared to the pain of the contractions, she thought the shot felt like a mere poke. It took a couple minutes for the drugs to kick in, but when her next contraction hit, she could feel it only enough to know it was there.

"Aah," she sighed contentedly. "This is better." She started looking around, as if just noticing something. "Where's Lauren?"

"Danielle's watching her," Troy explained. "She was in the waiting room when I came in."

"Are you guys gonna stay all night?" asked Gabriella skeptically. "I mean, if I'm in labor for that long."

Troy nodded. "Probably."

"What about Lauren, though?"

"This is gonna make me sound like a neglectful father, but Lauren will be fine sleeping in her stroller. She sleeps wherever."

Gabriella giggled.

Danielle entered just then, wheeling Lauren with her, who was, in fact, sleeping. She handed Gabriella her cell phone and said, "I got this from the car – just thought you might want it, to, you know, call Nathaniel." She left a moment later.

Gabriella stared at her phone for a minute before slowly dialing Nathaniel's number. She waited for a moment until the voice mail sounded again. "He still won't answer!" she cried, exasperated. "Why won't he answer, Troy?" she asked tearfully. "I want him to be here. He's my husband. He's the father of my child. Shouldn't he _want_ to be here?" She sniffed.

Troy took his own phone out of his pocket. "Let's see if he answers for me... what's his number?"

Gabriella recited Nathaniel's number by heart and Troy pressed 'send', expecting to reach the voice mail. However, Nathaniel answered on the second ring.

"Hey, Troy! How's it goin', man?"

Troy raised his eyebrows as he answered, "Um, it's good..." Gabriella's eyes start to tear up, as was per usual for that night. "Listen-"

"Troy, I'm takin' off for a week-long trip tomorrow morning, so do you wanna go hit up a bar or something?"

"What? No. I'm married, Nathaniel, and so are you," said Troy angrily. "Speaking of which-"

Nathaniel interrupted him again. "Oh, come on, Troy." He laughed. "Just because I'm married doesn't mean I can't have some fun!"

Troy sent Gabriella a look before leaving the room. He spied Danielle and motioned for her to go inside and see Gabriella, who did so as he sat with his sleeping daughter. "What do you mean by 'fun'?"

"Well, you know." Nathaniel let out another laugh. "Okay, well, between you and me, my business trips are usually only a couple days long. I never have week-long trips; God help us all! I like to extend them, you know – so I can spend some time with my lady friends."

"Your _lady_ _friends_?" Troy repeated, trying to keep calm as anger boiled up inside of him.

"Yeah. Come on, like you don't go to bars and get with women?"

"Not anymore," said Troy truthfully.

"And why the hell not?"

"Well because, Nathaniel, I'm married and a father."

"I'm married too."

"Yes, but that's our only similarity, oddly enough. I'm not a fucking _scumbag_." Troy closed his phone with a snap and wheeled Lauren's stroller into Gabriella's room, seething.

"What was that all about?" asked Danielle and Gabriella at the same time. Gabriella's eyes were red.

Troy softened up as he caught sight Gabriella's face. "I don't think Nathaniel's coming. But I'm not so sure if that's a bad thing anymore."

"Why?" asked Gabriella, her voice shaking.

"I'll tell you later." Troy nodded at Danielle, who took Lauren back to the waiting room while Troy soaked a cloth and started to dab at Gabriella's forehead.

She sniffed. "Troy... what happened?" she asked softly.

Troy looked into her face and felt his heart break; she didn't deserve to be married to that sorry excuse of a man, but at the same time, he didn't want to upset her any more than she already was on what should be one of the happiest days of her life. "I promise I'll tell you later," he said quietly. "Don't worry about it now. You're having a baby. Enjoy your last hours of freedom," he joked, causing her to crack a smile.

The next couple of hours were spent with Troy keeping Gabriella company while nurses came in and out of the room, checking her dilation. Despite her fast start to labor, the rest was a very slow process. After about an hour and a half at the hospital, Troy gave Danielle the key to his house so she could put Lauren to bed and stay with her until Devon returned from work, who had called Troy and wished Gabriella a good birth.

At around two in the morning, with Troy on his fourth cup of coffee and Gabriella starting to grow bored, a nurse came in to check Gabriella's dilation. Neither of them acknowledged her presence, as she'd been in there about seven times before, but after a moment she declared, "You've dilated at ten, Mrs. Richards. I'll go get a doctor and we'll get this baby out." She left and Gabriella, now wide awake, started to panic again.

"Oh, my gosh, Troy, I'm gonna push!" she cried, starting to sweat again. Troy, also more awake now, put down his coffee and went over to her side, dabbing her forehead with the wet cloth again.

"It's okay, Gabriella, just breathe, it's nothing to worry about," he tried to soothe her. "Women give birth all the time, and you're one of the strongest people I know. You can do this, I know you can."

"But what if the baby is too sick?" she moaned, growing worried again. "It's too early, I'm not even eight months, the baby shouldn't be coming!"

Troy gripped her hand tightly. "But the baby _is_ coming," he told her. "It wants to come out, and you can't do anything about it."

The doctor entered the room, accompanied by two nurses. "Oh, no, Troy, no-" Gabriella started to groan.

"Shh, Gabriella, it's okay." Troy started to worry himself; what if Gabriella refused to push?

The doctor and nurses spent about five minutes setting up everything for the labor. They spread apart Gabriella's legs. "Okay, Mrs. Richards, I want you to give us a quick push."

"Troy, no I don't want to!" Gabriella started to cry. "Please, Troy, don't make me, I'm not ready!"

"Gabriella, look at me." Troy turned her sweaty, tear-stained face to his own. "I'm right here. Just look at me. Look right at me." She hiccuped but didn't keep her eyes off of him. "I won't let anything happen to you or your baby, you hear me? You're both gonna be fine, I _promise_."

"Y-you swear?" she choked out.

"I swear," he affirmed. "But in order for that to happen, you need to get your baby out. Your baby wants to come out."

Gabriella nodded.

"Mrs. Richards, we need you to push," the doctor explained kindly. "Your baby is more than ready to come out."

Troy held tightly onto Gabriella's hand. "Gabriella, you need to push."

Gabriella turned back to the doctor and, after taking a deep breath, she nodded. She squeezed her eyes tight shut and pushed, her face starting to turn red from the effort. After a moment she stopped, her head falling back on her pillow, panting.

"Great job, Gabriella, I'm so proud of you," said Troy encouragingly.

"Now we need a long one, Mrs. Richards," said the doctor.

Gabriella repeated the process, with the nurses egging her on. One of them had taken up a position on Gabriella's other side, and whispered encouragement into her ears. "Come on, I know it's hard, but you can do it, I know you can, three more seconds-"

"Alright, you can stop now." Gabriella was breathing deeply now and sweating profusely. Her face was flushed and her eyes red from holding them tight shut. "I can see some dark hair – a couple more pushes and the head should be out!"

Fifteen minutes later, Gabriella had succeeded in pushing the head out. She started to cry with happiness and Troy kissed the top of her head. "Great job, Gabriella, you're doing amazing," he told her softly. "You can do this, just a couple more-"

Another ten minutes later, Gabriella was exhausted.

"Troy – I can't," she said quietly.

"Gabriella, your child is almost out, I _know_ you can do it!"

"No, I can't," she cried softly. "Troy, I'm too tired, I can't do this."

"You made it this far, don't quit on us now Gabriella!" pleaded Troy as they locked eyes. "Your baby wants to come out, so let it! I know you can do it. You've been doing this for half an hour, and in a minute you could be done. Just look at me. I know you can."

Gabriella nodded slowly and pushed one final time, narrowing her eyes but not closing them completely as she kept her eyes on Troy.

True to Troy's word, a moment later a cry rang through the hospital room. "It's a boy!" a nurse exclaimed, picking up the baby so he came into view. He was covered in blood, among other fluids, and was screaming his lungs out. "Would you like to cut the cord?" the nurse asked Troy. Gabriella nodded, her eyes closed, and Troy took the scissors and cut the baby's umbilical cord. Gabriella burst into happy tears once more as the nurses wrapped up her child and brought him over to a table to weigh him and clean him up.

"Troy, it's my son," she sobbed, lifting her head up slightly to watch him. Her face was drenched in sweat and strands of hair was sticking to her neck. "I did it, Troy."

"I knew you could," Troy hugged her around the neck and kissed her cheek as she cried.

"Here's your son, Mrs. Richards," a nurse said, smiling, as she handed her the baby, swaddled in a blue blanket. "Five pounds, one ounce, fourteen inches long."

"Oh, Troy, he's so beautiful," whispered Gabriella softly. "Look, that's my nose."

"What are you gonna name him?" asked Troy, also marveling at how handsome Gabriella's son was.

"Jackson," she said. "Jackson Troy Montez."

Troy felt his breath catch in his throat. "Gabriella-" he croaked. "You don't have to-"

"I know." She turned to face him. "But I want to."

Even though Troy felt like he didn't even need to ask this question, he said, "What about Nathaniel? I mean, can you have his last name be Montez?"

Gabriella narrowed her eyes darkly, staring at a spot on the wall. "Nathaniel deliberately didn't come and I know he said something terrible to you. I never want to see him again. And I don't want him involved in Jackson's life If his last name has to be Richards for now, so be it. When we get divorced I'll change it."

Troy tucked a stray piece of hair behind Gabriella's ear. "I'm so proud of you," he said quietly. Gabriella turned to him, and before either of them could stop themselves, he captured her lips in a kiss. They stayed like that for a moment before breaking apart slowly.

"You shouldn't have done that," said Gabriella slowly.

Not breaking eye contact, Troy answered, "I know."

Gabriella looked back at her son and kissed his cheek. "But I'm glad you did."


	6. Chapter 6

**AN:** Long chapter. And after this you can kiss them good-bye, because the rest are all average sized.

Ah, you see how I update faster when I get more reviews? It's because I'm a pathetic person who feeds on them. There, I said it, now you can't accuse me.

And lastly, thank you so much for your reviews! Not only did I reach the 100 mark, but went 14 over it :-D Thank you allll! I hope I don't disappoint you.

PS. Not much happens in this chapter, but eh... might as well review, right? ;-)

**Title: **_With You  
_**Rating:** _T  
_**Author: **_MadiWillow  
_**Summary: **_Troy is married with a small daughter. Gabriella is married and pregnant. They didn't keep in touch after school following a nasty break-up, but everyone knows that true love never dies.  
_**Genre:** _Drama/Romance  
_**Chapter: **_Chapter 6_

Gabriella was exhausted after Jackson's birth. Troy had gone home after about an hour and Danielle returned. They cooed over how adorable he was before Danielle left and they took Jackson to the nursery to feed him and test him for any diseases or disorders. Gabriella didn't even have any time to worry as they transported her into a different room and she fell into a deep sleep soon after.

However, she was awoken from her slumber of only five hours from her phone ringing. She picked up and said groggily, "Hello?"

"Hey Gabriella! Haven't heard from you in a while. Did I wake you?" came Taylor's perky voice from the other line.

Gabriella sighed deeply. "Yeah but that's okay." She sat up straighter. "What's been going on?"

"Oh, you know, the usual." Taylor mimicked Gabriella's sigh. "Jessie is a pain in the a – butt-" she quickly corrected herself, causing Gabriella to laugh. "And Kyle is wearing us down so much. It's harder to wake up in the middle of the night when you know you have a two-year-old in the next room who's going to be jumping off the walls in a few short hours."

It was then that Gabriella remembered. "Oh, Taylor, I had my son last night. Well, this morning."

There was a short silence before Taylor yelped, "WHAT!? Gabriella, did you, like, _forget_ or something?"

"Kinda," said Gabriella apologetically. "I'm really tired. He was born at two a.m. and I didn't get to sleep until around three."

"Still!" she exclaimed, "This isn't something you _forget_!" She then calmed down and squealed, "So, it's a boy? What'd you name him?"

"Jackson,"

"...Jackson what?"

"Um... Jackson Troy."

Silence. "WHAT!?"

"Taylor, please stop screaming!"

"I cannot believe you named your son after Troy."

"Well, I don't know..."

"I mean, he dumped you before college started and years later you name your _child_ after him? What is _wrong_ with you!?" she cried.

It dawned on Gabriella that Taylor – and all her other school friends – still had no idea she'd met up with Troy again. She started to laugh and said, "Taylor, there's something you need to know about that..."

"What? Tell me!" she said impatiently.

"Well, it's a funny story, actually..." Gabriella launched into the story of her and Troy running into each other at the baby store and them catching up the past couple of weeks. However, she paused when she got to the part about dinner the night before.

"...is the story over?" asked Taylor skeptically.

Gabriella let out a breath. "No. Last night Troy, his wife Devon, and their daughter Lauren came over for dinner. Long story short, Nathaniel freaked out and yelled at me in front of them. They left and then... so did Nathaniel."

"WHAT!?" Taylor yelped for the third time. "That son-of-a-bitch! Wait'll I-"

"Taylor, don't worry about it," said Gabriella weakly. "It took me a while, but I realize now that Nathaniel and I aren't meant to be together. I'm going to file the divorce papers as soon as I can."

"Good for you, Gabriella," said Taylor earnestly. "Don't let that asshole talk to you like that. And if he tries to pull you back in with some stupid 'I really do love you' shit, don't buy it."

Gabriella giggled.

"Hey, did you... did you guys get a pre-nup?" asked Taylor cautiously.

"Yeah," said Gabriella with realization, suddenly downtrodden. "I loved him so much when we got married... I never thought it we'd get divorced so I got one when he asked me. I'm so _stupid_."

"No you're not," Taylor assured her firmly.

"Did you and Chad get a pre-nup?" she asked miserably.

"Well... no..."

"Figures," Gabriella sighed. "Taylor, I gotta go."

"But wait! You never told me why you named your son after Troy."

Gabriella thought this over. "I really don't know. I mean, he did dump me on my ass all those years ago, but he explained why and how much he regretted it. And he was also with me throughout the whole birth and he really helped me. He deserves it." Before Taylor could say anything else, Gabriella told her she was tired and hung up. She sighed again and let her head fall back on her pillow. Just as her eyes started to close, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," she called sleepily and sat back up. Danielle and a nurse entered, wheeling in with them a glass incubator in which a small baby swaddled in a light blue blanket lay, with a matching blue hat on top of his dark hair. His eyes were closed and his breathing was slow and regular.

"Can I hold him?" asked Gabriella softly, gazing lovingly at her son.

"Of course," the nurse smiled widely and picked up the child and carefully set him in his mother's arms. "I'm not sure how familiar you are with newborn babies, Mrs. Richards, but one thing you must remember is to support their head and watch out for the soft spot."

Gabriella nodded and slowly jiggled her son in her arms. She watched his face, loving him more every second. She never knew she could love someone so much.

"Your son is one hundred percent healthy," the nurse continued. "We fed and burped him already, so he'll probably be out for a couple of hours. If he does wake up, it may be from gas or a dirty diaper. When you're ready, you can return home. You got lucky, being allowed to leave so early, especially with premature baby." The nurse winked. "Just remember to sign out."

Gabriella nodded again and the nurse left shortly thereafter. As soon as she walked out the door, Danielle turned to Gabriella and demanded, "So?"

"So what?" asked Gabriella, clearly baffled. "I had a child yesterday. Do you need to know the gory details?" Gabriella immediately regretted her words, as Danielle had miscarried twice with children she'd wanted very much.

"Not about _that_," said Danielle. If she was hurt by Gabriella's words, she didn't show it. "About you and Troy."

"Oh... well, he helped me through the birth," said Gabriella casually, trying to fight down the blush that was creeping up her cheeks.

"Mhm," smirked Danielle. "That was it, huh? And he was _glowing_ so much when he got home because you were able to experience the miracle of life?"

Gabriella hide the small grin on her face. "He was glowing?" she inquired.

Danielle let out a loud "HA!" of laughter that Gabriella was surprised didn't wake Jackson. "No, but I _knew_ something must've happened!" After a short pause, she added, "He _did_ seem unusually happy for a man who'd been awake all night, though."

Gabriella blushed full-on this time. "Well, he gave me a little kiss after Jackson was born."

Her employee's jaw dropped. "Awww!" she squealed happily, bouncing up and down on the foot of Gabriella's bed.

"No, it's not a good thing," Gabriella said suddenly. "It's horrible. Troy's married."

"Psh, to that blonde barbie?" scoffed Danielle. "Yeah, well, I'm sure they won't be married much longer."

"And why do you say that?" asked Gabriella skeptically.

"Because of you," she said simply. Gabriella gaped at her.

After a moment, she sighed. "Danielle, life isn't really that simple. Guys don't just dump their perfect wives for an old high school flame."

Danielle clucked her tongue impatiently. "There were many mistakes in that statement, Gabriella. First of all, Devon is _not_ perfect. And you're not an old high school flame. You said that Troy and Devon have been married for a year and a half? You were with him for _two_ and a half years. That's so _not_ just a 'high school flame'. Lastly, it seems like, not only are you not an old flame, but that Troy really likes you. Loves you, even."

Gabriella shook her head sadly. "I don't know, Danielle."

Danielle just shrugged. "Whatever you say."

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door and Troy Bolton himself stepped inside, wheeling with him Lauren's large stroller. He grinned at Gabriella – causing her to flush – and stepped all the way in her room, and the two women saw that he was holding a vase of yellow daisies.

"My favorite flowers," observed Gabriella without thinking. She blushed harder and looked down, pretending to be fascinated with Jackson's sleeping face.

"Yup," Troy said in response to her comment as he placed the plastic vase on her bedside table.

"I hope you got enough sleep last night," Gabriella said to him in a concerned voice. "Uh... I mean this morning?"

Troy laughed. "Don't worry about me, I'm used to getting little sleep." He shot a loving side-glance at his daughter, who was happily munching on, once again, Cheerio's.

Gabriella nodded and fell silent. Troy was watching her, a small smile on his face, and when Gabriella realized this, she bit her lip awkwardly and blushed yet again.

Danielle noticed the tension in the room and had to fight back a smile. She stood up from Gabriella's bed, placed her hands on her hips, and surveyed the room. "Well, this room is quite bland and depressing compared to yours at home, Gabriella." The two other occupants in the room jumped at her voice and glanced at her sheepishly, forgetting she was there. Danielle tried not to laugh. "Shall we get going? The nurse said you could leave."

Gabriella smiled happily and was about to get out of the bed before she stopped herself and sunk sadly back into her pillows. "I'm divorcing Nathaniel, remember? Once I file the papers, I don't live there anymore. We have a pre-nup." She sighed miserably. "I have no money because Nathaniel made me quit my job."

Danielle chewed the inside of her mouth. "You're right." She thought for a minute and then offered, "If you want, I can quit my job and we can use my savings to get an apartment-"

"No way!" cried Gabriella. "Besides, you're starting classes in the fall. I'm not gonna let you waste money on me when you have a well-paying job and free residence."

"How about I lend you-"

Gabriella shook her head stubbornly. "I won't accept it."

Danielle sighed. "Gabriella, you're so-"

"You can stay with us,"

Gabriella and Danielle both turned their heads to look at Troy. "Pardon?" asked Gabriella.

Troy cleared his throat and spoke louder. "You can stay with Devon and me, if you like," he repeated.

Gabriella shook her head. "I don't think you'd want to have a newborn waking up your family in the middle of the night."

"No, it's fine," Troy assured her. "Really. We can even help you."

"Are you sure?" she asked skeptically.

"A hundred percent,"

Gabriella stole a glance at Danielle, who nodded encouragingly. "Well, okay then." Her face broke into a smile. "Let's get going."

She let Danielle and Troy dress Jackson while Gabriella took a quick shower and got changed. She was amazed at how skinny she'd become since the birth – although not back to her old weight – and that she could see her feet. She was too tired to put on any makeup or do anything to her hair, so she just let it down and wet, knowing that it would dry wavy. Upon exiting the bathroom, Danielle proudly presented her her son, who was dressed in a yellow outfit with matching hat. His arms and legs didn't quite fill out the whole outfit, as he was so small.

"Get in the wheelchair!" demanded Danielle, once Jackson was in her arms.

"What? No," protested Gabriella.

"Yes!" argued Danielle. "Come on, don't you want to classically be wheeled out of the hospital, child in arms, to your car waiting right outside the doors?"

"Not really,"

"Well, we won't take no for an answer," Troy announced, and the two of them forced her into the wheelchair. Gabriella sighed resignedly, but grinned nonetheless as Danielle wheeled her downstairs, Troy with Lauren by her side.

"Wait here!" Danielle ordered, once in the waiting room. "I'll go bring the car around."

"Danielle, we can just-"

"No, no, I want the car to be right there," Danielle said stubbornly and she left the hospital to retrieve Gabriella's car. A nurse took over Gabriella's wheelchair duties when her car arrived.

"Ta-da!" Danielle said with a flourish as she opened the car door, showing off the car seat Gabriella had bought a few weeks prior. Gabriella thanked the nurse as she, with Troy's expert help, fastened Jackson into his car seat.

"Okay, so you'll pack and then come on over?"

"Yeah. We'll have to pack up all of my clothes and stuff, and then all of Jackson's things, so it may take a few hours. Oh and we might stop by City Hall," she added, biting her lip.

"Okay. See you then," he said soothingly and gave her a warm smile that caused her heart to flutter before he turned on his wheel and wheeled Lauren through the parking lot to their own vehicle.

Gabriella climbed into the backseat next to Jackson as Danielle pulled out of the parking lot. Gabriella watched her son lovingly as he slept. "He's so adorable," she breathed. "He looks just like me, too." She pursed her lips. "But I can also see some of Nathaniel in him."

"Jackson will be _nothing_ like Nathaniel," Danielle told her sternly. "Not with you as his mother."

Gabriella smiled at Danielle's back appreciatively.

The next couple of hours were spent with Gabriella packing all of her clothes and jewelry, along with other cherished items, while Danielle took apart the crib, changing table, and other furniture belonging to Jackson. She heaved them into the trunk of Gabriella's car, along with all their suitcases of clothes and, for Jackson, toys. Their only interruption was when Jackson needed a diaper change and Gabriella had freaked out about his umbilical cord.

"Ah!" she'd screeched, causing Danielle to run over.

"What is it?" Danielle had asked, panicked.

Pointing a shaking finger at Jackson's belly button, Gabriella asked, "W-what's that?"

Danielle had raised an eyebrow at her. "His umbilical cord."

"I thought they cut it off!" cried Gabriella. "Did something go wrong?"

Shaking her head, Danielle said, "You really don't know much about babies, do you?" Sighing, she explained, "The don't cut the _whole_ thing off. The cut off most of it and that little stub that they _don't_ cut off-" she motioned towards his belly button, "-falls off after a few weeks."

"That's really gross," Gabriella mused.

Danielle just shook her head again and continued packing.

Right before leaving, Gabriella grabbed a couple thousand dollars of cash that Nathaniel had "laying around". She knew he wouldn't notice and besides, she needed some money.

Shortly afterwards, on their way to City Hall, Gabriella groaned loudly. "Wait, Danielle, we can't go yet. I need to hire a divorce lawyer."

"Already taken care of!" she called from the driver's seat to Gabriella, who was again sitting next to Jackson.

"You did? When?"

"Didn't I already tell you? Hm, well, last night I was kinda bored at Troy's house so I cracked open the phone book and hired a lawyer. We have an appointment in ten minutes."

Gabriella gaped. "And you _conveniently_ forgot to mention this?"

"I thought I did!" Danielle defended herself. "I don't get a 'thank you'?"

Despite herself, Gabriella grinned. "_Thank you_," she teased. She glanced back at the tiny baby next to her, his black hair resting softly on his head; his thick black eyelashes long and beautiful. "This parenting thing isn't so hard," Gabriella remarked. "From what I've heard, it's really difficult. But all he does is sleep."

"Mhm. Easy," said Danielle, her voice laughing. Gabriella narrowed her eyes at her employee's back, but didn't say anything more on the subject.

They reached City Hall with four minutes to spare, which was lucky, as it took them all that time to locate the lawyer's office. Finally they found the door labelled Brooke Kenzington, and Gabriella, pushing Jackson in his stroller, knocked cautiously.

The door instantly flew open and they were exposed to a women with mouse-brown hair pulled back into a tight bun. She was wearing an velvet navy-blue suit with black clogs, no makeup, and thick bifocals. "You must be Mrs. Richards," said Miss Kenzington, holding out her hand.

"Hopefully not for long," said Gabriella, smiling good-naturedly, as she shook the lawyers hand.

Brooke shook Danielle's hand as well before leading them into her stuffy office. Gabriella and Danielle sat down in two leather-brown seats that were facing the messy, pine-wood desk. Miss Kenzington sat down, brushed some papers away, and folded her hands pleasantly on top of the desk. "So. You're here to divorce your husband?"

Gabriella nodded.

"I see that he's not present – does he have any idea that you're here?" she asked tentatively.

Gabriella hesitated, then shook her head. "No. He's away on business."

"Mmm," mused the lawyer. "Did you two have a prenuptial agreement?"

"Yes, we did."

"What did it state?"

"That if we ever divorced, everything that he earned with his own money is his and everything I earned is mine." She faltered. "Um, I think. I don't really know all the legal terms."

"Well, it sounds simple enough," said Miss Kenzington, nodding slightly. She grabbed a piece of paper from her desk and a pen and handed it across the table to Gabriella. "I need you to fill out this divorce contract. As soon as you sign it and I file it away, it'll be done."

"That's it? I don't have to... go to court or anything?" clarified Gabriella.

Miss Kenzington shrugged. "That depends. If Mr. Richards has no problem with the proceedings it will settle out of court. It could even settle without you ever seeing him again."

Gabriella nodded. "What if... what if he had an affair? Hypothetically, of course." Danielle shot her a confused glance.

"Adultery is looked down upon in court, as everywhere else in the world," Miss Kenzington explained. "If your husband committed such an act, and it was proven, he could lose everything."

Gabriella nodded for a second time. She bent down and started to fill out the divorce papers, when Jackson let out a loud cry. She yelped out at the sound of his voice, causing the pen to fly out of her hand. "Danielle, what do I do?" she asked, panicked.

"Calm down, Gabriella, he's just crying!" Danielle assured her.

"What if he's hurt?" she asked urgently.

"Shh, Gabriella, babies cry _all the time_," Danielle reminded her. "Just fill out the form and we'll be able to leave."

Gabriella just nodded; she turned around to go pick up the pen but saw that her lawyer had already retrieved it for her. "Thanks," she muttered weakly as she accepted it again, and bent down to fill out the papers.

There were so many boxes to check: divorce, separation, annulment. She checked the box for 'dissolution of marriage'.

_Dissolution of the marriage based on..._

There were only two reasons to end a marriage, according to this paper. "Irreconcilable differences" and "Incurable insanity". She clucked her tongue, thinking briefly that there was so much more that could end a marriage, before checking the former.

_Legal custody of children to..._

"Definitely not Nathaniel," she whispered, quietly, and checked "Petitioner". She checked the same for "Physical custody of children to" and refused to grant visitation. She wanted to get out of this marriage as fast as she could, and in doing so she decided to not ask for spousal or child support. She quickly filled out the rest of the form and signed her name at the bottom. _Gabriella Anne Richards_. _Soon it will be back to Montez._

As she handed the form back to her lawyer, she asked, "Once we're divorced, I can change my sons name back to my maiden name, can't I?"

"If you have legal custody of him, yes."

Gabriella turned to Danielle, who was desperately trying to calm down Jackson, as he was still crying. "Why won't he stop?" she asked, suddenly worried again.

"I don't know!" cried Danielle impatiently.

"Is that all?" asked Gabriella desperately of Miss Kenzington.

The other woman nodded. "We usually mail the divorce papers to the respondent's home, but you said your soon-to-be-ex-husband is on a business trip. Do you want us to fax it to his hotel or...?"

"No, just mail to our-_his_ house," said Gabriella, reaching the end of her line due to Jackson's crying. "It'll be a nasty shock for him."

Miss Kenzington nodded. "Have a good day, Mrs. Richards," she said, waving them out.

A few minutes later they were back in the car, and Jackson's crying had turned into screams.

"Danielle, what do I do?" Gabriella cried. "I don't know what he wants!"

"Maybe he's hungry?" Danielle yelled over the little boy's screaming.

"Well, I can't very well feed him right now!"

Danielle swerved the car dangerously and pulled to the stop on the side of the road. "Try now."

Gabriella slowly unbuckled her son from the car, his little face red, and cradled him in her arms. She lifted up her shirt, unhooked her nursing bra, and tried to get him to eat, but he wasn't having any of it. "Shouldn't he be hungry by now?" asked Gabriella, feeling close to a breakdown. "It's been hours since he ate!"

"Maybe he needs another diaper change?

Gabriella checked his diaper, but it was clean. "No, not that!"

"Put him back in the seat; we'll get Troy to help us."

Gabriella strapped him back in his car seat and hooked her bra back in place while Danielle sped, in record time, to Troy's house. Immediately, without even admiring the nice street that Troy lived on, Gabriella grabbed her son and rushed to Troy's front door. She knocked urgently on his door and waited impatiently for him to answer.

The door opened and Troy's smiling face appeared. "There you-"

"Troy, I don't know what's wrong with him," said Gabriella, tears starting to appear in her eyes. "He won't stop crying and I-I don't know what to do-"

Troy placed his hand on the little boys soft head and patted him softly. "Is he hungry?" Gabriella shook her head wildly. "Diaper change?" She shook her head again.

"Oh, well, he must has gas then," said Troy matter-of-factly. "May I?" he gestured toward Jackson.

"Yes, of course." Gabriella slowly transferred Jackson to Troy. He looked so much smaller against Troy; his body was as thick as one of Troy's arms and his head could fit easily into Troy's hand. Troy, however big he was, was completely gentle with Jackson.

"Oh, you're a big boy," he cooed and lifted him up over his shoulder. He turned around so that Jackson's scrunched up face was reflected at Gabriella. Troy slowly started to jiggle him up and down, while slowly patting his back. Slowly but surely, Jackson's face relaxed and he stopped crying.

"Wow," said Gabriella softly, as Troy settled Jackson into his arms once again. "You're a pro."

Troy grinned at her. "It takes practice." He glanced down at Jackson, who had turned his head to Troy's shirt and was trying to suckle it. "Although I think he may be hungry now. How about I show you to your room, and then I'll help Danielle unpack your stuff?"

Gabriella turned around, remembering that Danielle had not followed her into the house. Said maid was removing bags from Gabriella's car. "Are you sure you don't want me to-?"

"No, no, go feed your son," said Troy, still grinning. He handed Jackson carefully back to her and then led her into the house.

The foyer they were standing in was huge and spacious. Gabriella hadn't noticed earlier, due to her panic, that Troy's house was very large; almost as big as hers was – _had been_, she corrected herself. He led her into a hallway and then up a very wide staircase into the upstairs. He showed her her room, which was at the very end of the hallway. Before they entered, however, he stopped and said, "Okay, so that's mine and Devon's room-" he pointed the closed door near the stairs, "-that's Lauren's room-" he indicated a door on the other end of the hallway, "-that's the smaller guest bedroom-" he motioned towards the door opposite Lauren's, "-that's Lauren's playroom-" he pointed to an open archway at the very end of the hallway, "and that's a bathroom," he finished, pointed towards the open door next to Lauren's. He winked at her. "Got all that?"

She giggled and nodded. He turned and opened her bedroom door for her, standing back so she could enter.

"Wow," Gabriella remarked in complete surprise upon entry. The room had flawless white carpet, a large queen-sized canopy bed, and a dark wooded dresser. The carpet was soft to the touch and the bed had somewhere around six to eight pillows and a light pink comforter. A door on the opposite wall was open to reveal an equally impressive bathroom.

"Devon's a perfectionist," Troy admitted sheepishly. "If she's not working, she's redecorating."

"Wow," repeated Gabriella. She turned back to Troy. "Thank you so, so much for this."

Troy shrugged modestly. "Hey, don't worry about it. What are friends for?"

Gabriella just nodded and smiled back. He left soon after, to assist Danielle. Once Gabriella was positioned comfortably on the soft bed, with Jackson happily sucking away, she muttered to herself, "Yeah... friends."


	7. Chapter 7

**AN:** BORING CHAPTER ALERT!! Grr. I had so much trouble writing these chapters. They were toooo boringggg. But yeah. Please review k?

I was originally gonna post this tomorrow night but I'm going to our Winter Formal dance so I won't be home till like midnight or one... haha and by then I'll be like dying of sleepiness. So I decided to post it now (I'm just so God-damn generous, eh?).

Oh and I just wanted to let you know that if you want any bonus info on this story, or any of my others, visit my freewebs site (homepage link) and view the Bonus Story Info page. ;-)

**Title: **_With You  
_**Rating:** _T  
_**Author: **_MadiWillow  
_**Summary: **_Troy is married with a small daughter. Gabriella is married and pregnant. They didn't keep in touch after school following a nasty break-up, but everyone knows that true love never dies.  
_**Genre:** _Drama/Romance  
_**Chapter: **_Chapter 7_

Danielle's departure was a teary one, for both women. Gabriella knew that they wouldn't be able to see each other very much anymore, what with the divorce and the fact that Nathaniel would probably forbid Danielle from visiting her. After all of Gabriella's stuff had been unpacked and Jackson had been fed and burped, the two hugged and cried for five minutes, telling each other that they'd 'better keep in touch' and other farewells. Finally, however, Danielle had to leave, so she grabbed a taxi and off she went.

Gabriella, still sniffling, wandered into the kitchen. She found Troy feeding Lauren in her highchair, which was situated right next to Jackson's. "You alright?" asked Troy cautiously.

The former nodded. "Yeah... it's just..." she sighed. "Danielle was one of the best friends I've ever had, and I'm worried now. Nathaniel can be cruel and vicious sometimes, as you witnessed. I'm afraid he might fire her. And even if he doesn't, I won't be able to see her again."

Troy nodded as well, in understanding. "I realize it must be hard for you."

Gabriella just bit her lip. "Yeah. So, uh," she stammered, searching for a subject changer. "When will Devon be home?"

Troy shrugged, his face impassive. "I don't know."

"Why do I get the vibe that you don't... care?"

"I care!" Troy defended himself quickly. "It's just that I never know when she comes home anymore. Sometimes she goes days at the office. I've kinda just... gotten used to it, I guess."

"I know how that is..." Gabriella murmured.

There was a small pause before Troy, staring out the window, started to explain, "It wasn't always like that, you know. She used to be home all the time. When she was pregnant with Lauren, that was the greatest time of my life. She didn't work at all and we would spend our days shopping for baby things, going to movies or out to dinner, or just relaxing here, picking out baby names." Despite Gabriella's jealousy, she couldn't help but smile a little. "When she went back to work, it wasn't that much. She wouldn't leave for work until Lauren was awake and would come home every night before she went for bed. She loved being a mother."

Gabriella waited patiently for him to continue, but he didn't for a few minutes. Finally, he said, "Then, just a couple of months ago, things started changing. I would never see her. I'd wake up with her gone, and would go to sleep without her home yet. She could never talk on the phone because she was always busy. At first I was distraught; I hated it. I wanted her to come home once in a while – I wanted it to be like before." He shook his head, his eyes closed. "But I just got used to it. Now... it's normal for me to never see her. It was completely abnormal for her to have that night off, and for her to have time to wish you a congratulations." He let out a small, forced laugh. "It'll probably be a week before you finally see her."

"Wow," breathed Gabriella finally. "Troy... I'm so sorry." She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. Troy put his arms on her lower back and hugged her back, burying his face in the crook of her neck. When they pulled back, his eyes were shining.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, wiping at his eyes. "I didn't mean to tell you all of that... I can't believe I'm crying."

Gabriella smiled at him. "Hey, don't worry. I'm in the same boat as you. Nathaniel was always working and sometimes I got really depressed about it. Now I'm just upset that I married such a loser."

Troy's face suddenly hardened. He removed Lauren from her highchair, who he'd long since finished feeding, and said, "Come on."

He led her upstairs into their play room, which had a space for Lauren splayed about the floor. He placed her on a pink blanket and she giggled, crawling over to a stuffed turtle that looked worse for wear. Troy sat down on one of their brown leather couches and motioned for Gabriella to sit next to him. He turned to her, sighing.

"I really hate having to tell you this..." he said quietly. "But you do deserve to know."

"Know what?" questioned Gabriella.

He hesitated. "Don't you remember last night... when I spoke with Nathaniel?"

Gabriella's face shined remembrance and she pursed her lips. "Yes."

"Well... he sort of... revealed to me that he... well, he..." Troy stammered uncomfortably.

"Troy," said Gabriella, in a shaky voice. "What did he say?"

Troy let out a defeated breath. "He told me that he lies to you. He never has week long business trips. He extends them so he can... cheat on you."

Gabriella was silent for a long time, trying to ignore the war of emotions currently erupting inside of her. Nathaniel had cheated on her. He'd _cheated_ on her. He'd lied to her. _I wasn't good enough for him._

She leaned forward and pressed her palms to her eyes, hard, until she saw stars. She was vaguely aware of herself slipping off the couch onto the floor, where she hid her face as she sobbed. Troy was next to her, saying something, but she wasn't listening. She didn't care if she and Nathaniel were divorcing. He'd still felt the need to be with someone else. It was one thing if he didn't love her, but it's a completely other story if he cheated on her. She felt worthless; stupid. She'd been a fool to think that he'd been faithful; she felt worthless for staying in a marriage as horrible as that. She'd never felt worse in her life.

Finally she came to, and looked up. Her cheeks were shining with tears and she realized all too late that her nose was running. Troy's face was right next to hers, and he handed her a tissue. "Here," he said simply. She wiped her nose and then her eyes, breathing hard.

"I-I'm sorry,"

Troy shook his head. "Don't be. I'm sorry for having to tell you."

"No. I'm glad you did."

A cry echoed suddenly through the room. Gabriella and Troy both looked down the hall. Another cry came.

"I'll be right back," said Gabriella weakly, and before Troy could protest or say anything, she was halfway down the hall.

Upon entry of her room, she knew immediately from the stench what the problem was. She placed Jackson on the changing table and, keeping on hand on him so he wouldn't roll off of it, gathered a box of wipes and another diaper. Making sure she didn't breathe in, she quickly changed his disgustingly dirty diaper and wrapped it in a plastic bag. Juggling her newly cleaned son in one arm, she went downstairs, disposing of the diaper in the outdoor trash can.

She climbed back up the stairs, feeling that if she did this every day she'd have her old physique back in no time. She re-entered the play room, jiggling Jackson in her arms, and saw Troy on the ground with Lauren. He looked up at the sound of her footsteps and stood up. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Gabriella nodded. She sat down on the couch and held Jackson tightly in her arms. His red face was so soft, and his hazel eyes were staring at his mother. She smiled slightly and kissed his forehead.

Troy sat down next to her again. "If there's anything I can do..."

She shook her head.

There was a long silence, broken only by noises from Jackson and the sound of toys played with by Lauren. Finally Troy broke it and said, "If you told your lawyer that Nathaniel cheated... what would happen?"

"I asked her that," answered Gabriella after a moment. "She said he could lose everything."

"Why'd you ask her? You didn't know, did you?"

She shook her head. "I don't know why I asked. I think I kinda had a feeling. Or I just wanted to know... just in case."

Troy nodded. Another pause. "So, are you going to tell your lawyer?"

"We can't prove it," Gabriella reminded him.

Troy reached into his pocket and retrieved his phone and flipped it open. "My phone automatically records all my phone calls. Look," He showed Gabriella the screen of his phone, which had a list of all his phone calls, when they took place, and how long they were. "Usually I delete them, but this one I didn't."

"That's convenient," Gabriella said slowly. She thought it over. She could suck Nathaniel dry, ruin his reputation, kick him to the curb if she wanted. She could do it easily, by just handing over Troy's phone where Nathaniel confessed to his infidelity. She could... but she wouldn't.

She shook her head. "No, I'm not going to tell."

"Why?" asked Troy, surprised.

She shrugged. "What's the point? I have everything I need." She looked down at Jackson. "I don't need his money, his house, or any of that."

Troy said nothing; he had nothing to argue it with.

Suddenly Gabriella's cell phone in her pocket started to ring and vibrate loudly. She took it out and glanced at the Caller ID.

Nathaniel.

She glanced at Troy, chewing on her lip. He asked softly, "Is it him?"

She nodded.

"You don't have to answer it," he told her.

Gabriella sighed. "I know," but she opened it anyway and said, "H-hello?"

"Hey baby," floated Nathaniel's voice through the ear piece. "Just wanted to make sure that my beautiful wife was doing okay."

Gabriella felt her temper flare. "I wasn't your 'beautiful wife' last night, was I?"

Nathaniel cleared his throat. "About that, honey-"

"Don't 'honey' me," Gabriella spat. "It's over, Nathaniel."

"What's over? The birth?" he said stupidly.

"No. Our marriage."

"W-what?" came his shocked voice.

"I filed the papers today. There is no way I want to be 'your wife'."

"You can't do that!" Nathaniel yelled, suddenly angrily. "You can't divorce me!"

"Yeah? Try me," she growled.

"But-but what about our child?"

"The birth of whom you completely skipped?" she asked incredulously. "If you care so much about our child, Nathaniel, you'd be here right now. You would've stayed home from Washington, or wherever the fuck you are. You would've come racing to the hospital at the first signs of my labor. You would know if it's a boy or girl; what it's name is."

"Why don't you tell me it's name, you bitch," sneered Nathaniel.

Gabriella opened her mouth in indignation. "I'll let you guess," she hissed, before hanging up the phone and letting it drop.

This time, however, she didn't cry. For the first time that day, she felt that filing the divorce papers had been the best thing she'd ever done in her life. "Good riddance," she muttered.

She raised her eyes to meet Troy's. "I'm guessing he's not that happy?" he said.

She shook her head. "Not in the least."

He looked uncomfortable. "You don't think he'd come here and try to... attack you or anything?"

Gabriella shook her head. "Nathaniel may be an asshole, but I don't he'd hurt me. His anger reaches its point there."

Ten minutes later, Gabriella retreated to her room. After feeding Jackson and burping him, she put him in his bassinet and took him in the bathroom with her while she showered. She changed into pajamas and blew-dried her hair, changed Jackson into pajamas of his own, and slowly lowered him into his crib. She watched him for a long time, long after he'd fallen asleep. She leaned over and kissed him softly on the head before climbing into bed herself, not realizing how tired she was until her head hit the soft pillow and she fell quickly to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN:** I swear this is the last short, boring chapter of the story. Don't worry. Next chapter is my faaaavorite so review this to get that one sooner. Haha.

**Title: **_With You  
_**Rating:** _T  
_**Author: **_MadiWillow  
_**Summary: **_Troy is married with a small daughter. Gabriella is married and pregnant. They didn't keep in touch after school following a nasty break-up, but everyone knows that true love never dies.  
_**Genre:** _Drama/Romance  
_**Chapter: **_Chapter 8_

It was nine in the morning, and Gabriella had finally gotten Jackson to sleep. She placed him in his crib and waited to see if he would wake up again. When he didn't, she breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Glancing at herself in the mirror, she saw she looked hideous. Her hair was frizzy and half wavy, half straight. Her eyes had dark circles under them from a sleepless night, and it was only the first of many.

She slowly stumbled out of her room and down the stairs, into the kitchen were Troy was making pancakes. Lauren was sitting in her highchair, drinking sloppily from a cup of apple juice.

"Long night?" Troy asked, flipping a pancake.

"Very," Gabriella groaned and sank into a chair, putting her elbows on the table and her face in her hands. "I hope I didn't wake you," she said in a muffled voice.

"Don't worry about it," Troy responded, his voice suddenly closer. Gabriella looked up and saw him setting a platter of pancakes in front of her, complete with butter and syrup. "I figured you're probably hungry."

Gabriella nodded; she hadn't even noticed her hunger until Troy mentioned it. She grabbed her fork and cut into her food, shoving three pieces into her mouth at once. She looked up embarrassedly at Troy, realizing too late how disgustingly sloppy she was acting. She wiped at her mouth with a napkin.

If Troy noticed, however, he didn't let on. He cut up a small pancake into very tiny bites for Lauren and set the plastic plate in front of her. She squealed, "da-da!" before eating a piece.

Troy laughed. "Everything is 'da-da' to her," he informed Gabriella.

Gabriella smiled. "She's so cute."

Lauren yelled, "da-da!" again before eating another piece. The two adults laughed.

Suddenly Jackson's cry sounded from the baby monitor on the counter. Gabriella groaned in exasperation. Scolding herself for thinking that 'this mother thing' would be easy, she made to get up.

"No, wait here," Troy said, getting up first. "I'll get him."

"Oh, but-"

"Don't worry!" Troy assured her. "I'll take care of whatever he needs. And if he's hungry, I'll bring him down. You just relax and eat, okay?"

Gabriella was too tired to argue with Troy, so she relented and sat back down. Taking a sip of her orange juice, she thought about how lucky she was since Troy was with her. _But it's so hard living with him... and not being able to be with him._ She bit her lip. _What was with that kiss the other night? Was that just him feeding his desires? Did it mean nothing?_ Her fingers grazed her lips, but she pushed the thoughts away.

By the time Troy was back down, Gabriella had finished her meal and was washing the dishes. "You didn't have to-" he started, but she cut him off.

"You helped me, I helped you," she smirked and Troy grinned back. "What did Jackson want?"

"He needed a diaper change. And then it took a while for him to fall back asleep. He'll probably be out for four or five hours before he's hungry again."

Gabriella nodded as she turned off the sink. "So. What do you and Lauren usually do during the day?"

Troy shrugged. "It depends. Sometimes we'll go out to eat or to the park. Other times we'll just hang out here." He glanced at his daughter. "Since Jackson's sleeping, we'll stay here."

"Sounds good to me."

The rest of the morning was spent with Gabriella playing with Lauren while Troy did housework. Gabriella and Lauren watched The Wiggles and Lauren attempted to dance along, but as she wasn't very advanced in the walking department, she usually just fell down. She took it with grace, however, and giggled every time it happened. Gabriella picked her up a couple of times and would dance along with her, not knowing that Troy would poke his head in and watch them for a couple of minutes.

Lunch time rolled around, and Jackson woke up. Gabriella retrieved him, a nursing blanket, and a burping cloth before going back downstairs. Troy was feeding Lauren some carrot baby food when she returned.

"Hungry?" he asked her.

"Yeah, I think so," she answered, sitting down and unstrapping her bra. Jackson immediately started to suckle and she covered him with the nursing blanket.

"No, I meant you," Troy corrected himself, his eyes twinkling.

"Oh." Gabriella laughed. "Um, I guess so. What do you have?"

"What do I have? Hah!" Troy mock-laughed. "I have everything. What do you _want_?"

She giggled. "Maybe I'll just have a turkey sandwich."

"Coming right up!" Troy leaned forward and used a wash cloth to clean Lauren's mouth, causing her to giggle happily. He removed her from her high chair and she clumsily walked over to Gabriella.

"Baby!" she cried gleefully, touching Jackson's soft head.

Jackson instantly started to cry loudly. Lauren retracted her hand and wobbled into the family room, where Dora the Explorer was currently on.

"Oh, Jackson, shh," said Gabriella softly. She strapped her nursing bra and held Jackson over her shoulder, patting his back. The baby continued crying loudly for a few minutes, before slowly calming down. She cradled him in her arms again and saw that he was still awake. His hazel eyes were absorbing their surroundings.

"Nice," observed Troy, nodding.

She smirked. "I learned from the best."

He smiled. The doorbell rang at that moment and Troy left to answer it. Gabriella made a face at Jackson and flicked his nose lightly. His scrunched up face just started back at her, unblinkingly. "When are you gonna start smiling?" She mused.

"She doesn't want to see you!" came Troy's loud voice from the front of the house. Gabriella looked up curiously. She listened and heard another familiar voice say, "What are you, her mother?"

Gabriella looked over at the family room, making sure that Lauren was still there, before walking through the kitchen into the foyer. "Troy, what-"

She stopped walking. Troy was standing in the doorway, blocking Nathaniel from entering his house. The latter was holding a wrinkled piece of paper in his hands and looked furious.

"Gabriella! Let me in, we need to talk!"

Gabriella kept her distance, holding Jackson tightly to her chest. "No," she replied in a shaky voice. "Nathaniel, go away."

Nathaniel shot daggers at her, and a second later noticed Jackson. Gabriella watched closely. His face didn't soften.

"Is that my child?" he asked curtly.

Gabriella shook her head. "He's not your son. I'm never letting you see him."

Nathaniel's face flushed. "You can't do that to me!" he roared.

Troy stepped into the doorway again and said, "Nathaniel, I'm going to call the police if you don't leave, now."

Nathaniel took a few deep breaths through his nose before saying, "Okay. I get it. I'll calm down. But Gabriella... can I talk to you alone, for a minute?"

"No," said Troy immediately, but Gabriella cut in.

"Sure. Just for a minute."

Troy turned to look at her and she nodded simply. Troy glanced at Nathaniel quickly and then walked towards Gabriella. He took Jackson from her and just as he started walking away from her, she felt something hard and cold slide into her hand. She clasped her hand around it and folded her arms over her chest, walking into the threshold to face Nathaniel.

"Gabriella, honey," he started, with forced calm. "You know that I love you, don't you? I'm sorry about the birth, but I couldn't get off work."

"Oh, but you could now?" she asked curiously.

"Well, I mean, you were divorcing me! I had to do something!" he defended himself.

"I see," she said, narrowing her eyes. "So it was more important to stop our divorce than to see your son being born?"

A muscle in Nathaniel's mouth twitched. "Look, Gabriella," he said firmly. "I love you. Don't divorce me. We can work through this."

"Well, Nathaniel, that's the problem," said Gabriella, lowering her voice. "I _don't_ love you, I _will_ divorce you, and I don't _want_ to work through this."

"You bitch," Nathaniel growled. "You can't divorce me."

"You already said that to me," she sighed. "And I'm still doing it."

Nathaniel glared at her before glancing at the papers in his hand, which Gabriella noticed were the divorce papers. He looked back at her. "I see you took all of yours and the baby's stuff."

"That's right, I did."

"You know that our pre-nup said in the divorce I get what I earned and you get what you earned, right?" he sneered. "I bought you all of that stuff. You have nothing. I'm suing you for them.

And since you have no job and will have nothing, I'm suing you for sole legal _and_ physical custody." He looked down at her triumphantly.

"You are, are you?" she said, unconcerned. "Well then, that should make for an interesting court case."

"Why would that be?" he asked.

She uncrossed her arms to reveal Troy's cell phone. Nathaniel didn't notice what she was doing until she had flipped open the phone and started searching for Troy's recorded calls. She found his, turned up the volume, and played it for him. As he listened in horror to his words of adultery being played back to him, she took a couple steps back so she was out of his reach.

When the conversation ended, Gabriella flipped the phone shut and shoved it into her pocket, while studying Nathaniel. His mouth was opened and gaping as he stared at the ground. After a moment she cleared her throat and his eyes snapped up to hers. Immediately his face turned red.

"That doesn't prove anything."

She folded her arms again. "Oh, yes it does, and you know it." She stepped closer to him, narrowing her eyes and lowering her voice dangerously. "If you want to sue me, go ahead and try. I dare you. But just to warn you: you will be _ruined_. You will lose _everything_. So you can either give me my stuff and _my_ son, or everything. Take your pick."

Nathaniel glared at her for a long time, but Gabriella held her gaze. She stared him in the eyes, silently telling him to sue her, until he finally looked away. He turned sharply on his heel and stormed down the walkway, into his expensive car, and sped away.

Gabriella shut the door behind her and leaned against it, breathing out in relief. He was gone. Forever.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN:** YAYYYY! I LOVE THIS CHAPTER. And I KNOW you all will to. And because I'm so nice and shit, I decided to post it after only a DAY. THAT'S how excited I am.

So yeah... you're all gonna want more after this one but maybe I'll make you wait a few extra days. Or maybe not. With me, you never really know. I could wait a week, I could wait a day, whatever. But I just want you to know that, excluding this chapter, there are 3 chapters left and an epilogue.

**Title: **_With You  
_**Rating:** _T  
_**Author: **_MadiWillow  
_**Summary: **_Troy is married with a small daughter. Gabriella is married and pregnant. They didn't keep in touch after school following a nasty break-up, but everyone knows that true love never dies.  
_**Genre:** _Drama/Romance  
_**Chapter: **_Chapter 9_

To Gabriella's immense surprise, the next few months seemed to fly by. Her divorce was finalized within a week and Gabriella never saw Nathaniel again, to her great pleasure. Troy was very supportive of her, and helped her get through the days where she felt too depressed to do anything. She knew that divorcing Nathaniel was the best decision she could have made, but it still hurt to think that he may have never loved her. Troy was able to help her get through it, telling her things like "He's a fool for giving you up" and "You're better off without him", things that made her wish even more that they could be together. However, she pushed those thoughts away and forced herself to only think of Troy as a friend.

She spent her days lounging around the house with Jackson, Lauren, and Troy, and, occasionally, Devon. In three months, Gabriella had only seen Devon a handful of times, but each them she did they became better friends. Gabriella's feelings for Troy hated for her to admit it, but Devon was a very nice woman and she could see why Troy had married her. He always looked at her with such love in his eyes that Gabriella felt like she had to look away; like she was looking in on a private matter.

The first time Devon had a day off, the five of them went out to lunch. It turned out to be disastrous, to say the least. Lauren had started to, inexplicably, scream loudly in the middle of the meal, which had in turn caused Jackson to start crying as well. After many complaints from other restaurant guests the group had retreated back to the Bolton house.

On the days when Devon was working, Gabriella and Troy would either go for a walk with Lauren and Jackson or stay at home. Despite it being summer, it still could get very cold in Buffalo, so on many days they couldn't leave due to the weather.

Troy and Devon (whenever she was home) were also a huge help to Gabriella in caring for Jackson, especially at night. A lot of times they would get up with her to feed him – with a formula bottle – or change his diaper, something which Gabriella was eternally thankful for. She had protested at first, telling them that they didn't need to help her, but as all the missed hours of sleep added up and Gabriella started to pass out in the middle of meals, she started feeling grateful.

She and Troy had not shared any romantic interactions since the night Jackson was born, something that Gabriella was both glad and bereaved about. She was happy that she was no longer in a position where she felt uncomfortable, but she also did like Troy (as much as she tried to deny it) and she sometimes thought that maybe he didn't like her like that; that he'd only kissed her that night to maybe refresh his memory, and in that moment he'd realized that he _didn't_ love her.

Watching Jackson grow from a tiny, scrunched faced baby to a bouncing, cheerful three-month-old was amazing to witness. His skin was no longer red, but light brown, like hers, and he opened his eyes more. He sometimes would smile for split seconds, although Devon ruined Gabriella's excitement by telling her that babies don't know how to control their movements, and that smiling at such a young age doesn't necessarily mean they're happy.

Lauren was also completely taken with Jackson. Whenever she saw Jackson, she would cry happily, "Baby! Baby!" She'd even learned Gabriella's name – she called her "Gab".

Gabriella had formed a special bond with Lauren. She almost thought of her as her own daughter, especially since Gabriella was with her more than Devon was. Sure, when Devon came home, Lauren would run at her and scream, "Mommy! Mommy!", but she did the same thing when Gabriella would wake up in the morning.

Troy had also grown very close to Jackson, acting somewhat like a father figure towards him. He found so much pleasure in playing with him. He would play with his hands and legs, play Peek-a-boo with him, blow raspberries on his stomach, tickle him – all things Gabriella had always wished Nathaniel would do.

Despite the overall pleasurable atmosphere, as the weeks went on, Devon's long absences started to irritate Troy. On the morning's when she wasn't there, he was always upset and quiet before seemingly cheering up as the day went on. It worried Gabriella, and she wanted to tell Troy that he should talk to her about taking some time off, but she wasn't sure if it was her place to give relationship advice. After all, she wasn't very lucky in that field.

Some nights, when Gabriella would walk by their room to check on Lauren and Jackson in the playroom, or to go downstairs, she could hear them fighting. She never hung around long enough to hear about what, but it worried her. She didn't want them going through a divorce like she had to.

On most days, however, she, Troy, Lauren, and Jackson had fun with each other. They ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner together every night, they watched TV together, and Gabriella would help out putting Lauren to bed. She loved living with them, and was sad that one day she would have to get a job and move out, leaving that glorious life behind.

However, things changed suddenly one night in late August. Gabriella had just finished putting Lauren to bed as Troy was making dinner for Devon, who had come home for the night. She and Gabriella had greeted each other happily before the latter retreated, and she was bringing Jackson down so she, Devon, and Troy could chat while Jackson nursed.

Gabriella was just about to turn into the kitchen entry way when Devon said something that caused her to stop in her tracks.

"Troy... we need to talk."

"Sure Devon. What is it?"

Gabriella could tell from the tone of Devon's voice that a serious conversation was about a place. Troy, however, didn't seem to notice as he answered so lightly. Holding Jackson tightly in her arms, Gabriella debated on whether she should feed Jackson upstairs and leave them to some privacy or eavesdrop. Her mind was telling her to leave, however her body rejected and stayed rooted at the spot. Jackson remained happily sucking on his pacifier, oblivious to the situation.

"Troy... this..." Devon sighed, and tried again. "This isn't working out."

"What isn't?"

"Us. Our marriage."

Gabriella's mouth fell open in shock, and she figured that Troy's did too. Sure, they'd been fighting a lot, but Gabriella never thought that divorce would come out of it. Clearly, neither did Troy. There was a silence, before Troy croaked, "You-you mean-"

"I want to file for divorce," Devon clarified, her voice stronger.

"But... why?"

"I thought I already made myself clear," said Devon coolly.

Troy accused, "No. You said our marriage wasn't working. _Why_?"

Devon clucked her tongue impatiently. "Haven't you noticed that I've been unhappy?"

"How could I? You're always at work."

"And that wasn't your first clue?"

There was another pause. Gabriella wished her feet would move – she didn't want to witness this – but they were cemented into the hard-wood floor.

"So... you started working more because of me?"

"In a way..."

"What the hell does that mean?" he asked angrily.

"I haven't really been at work as much as you think I am."

Gabriella closed her eyes in horror. _Troy's going through what I went through..._

"W-what-"

"You know Jerry, my partner?"

"Yes." Pause. "Are you _sleeping_ with that bastard?!"

"I was unhappy, Troy!" exclaimed Devon passionately. "Jerry makes me happy. He makes me feel like... a woman!"

Troy snorted in disgust. "Like a woman? Because getting pregnant didn't?"

"That's all you wanted me for," Devon accused nastily. "You wanted someone to bear your child."

"I... you..." sputtered Troy, so affronted that he couldn't even speak properly. "That's preposterous! Are you _insane_?"

"Oh, so now I'm insane?" cried Devon hysterically. "Is that what you're saying?"

"Devon, calm down!" demanded Troy. "Lauren's asleep."

There was an awkward pause. "Speaking of Lauren..."

"I hope you don't think I'm letting you have custody of her," snarled Troy.

"Good," said Devon, making Gabriella gasp softly. Luckily, it went undetected.

"G-good?" he stammered.

"I'm signing away custody of her to you."

"WHAT?" yelped Troy.

"Isn't that what you want?" asked Devon quietly.

Troy stuttered. "Well – yes – of course – but why-?"

"I don't want to be her mother anymore," Devon explained, her voice monotonous.

"And what made you come to _that_ decision?"

"I just don't want to."

"Devon," said Troy impatiently, his voice shaking. "Signing away custody of your daughter is not just an overnight decision. I don't understand. You practically raised your brothers, so surely it's not-"

"You're right, I _did_ raise my brothers," Devon interrupted. "And no, it wasn't too hard. But I saw how they treated my parents when they got older. They were nasty to them; malicious. I don't want Lauren to grow up to hate me like that, so I might as well quit while I'm ahead."

There was a long silence; Gabriella's heart was beating furiously. "So you're saying," Troy said, livid. "that you are giving up your daughter because you don't want to deal with her teenage hormones?"

"Troy-"

"And you think she'll LIKE you after this? When she grows up without a mother? You think that's somehow BETTER?"

Devon didn't answer. Instead, she said, "I'm gonna pack. I'll file the papers tomorrow. You can have the house. And since we don't have a pre-nup, you'll be getting half of our money." There was a hesitation. "Can I... can I say good-bye to Lauren?"

"Over my fucking dead body," Troy growled menacingly. Gabriella heard the scraping of chairs and hurriedly backed away, so she could make it look like she'd just arrived. She walked towards the kitchen entrance in time for Devon and Troy to brush past her without a side glance. They both stormed up the stairs silently and slammed their bedroom door.

Gabriella, her heart racing, sat down at the table that Troy and Devon had recently occupied. She unclasped her nursing bra, removed the pacifier from Jackson's mouth, and covered him with the blanket as he started to nurse. She was barely paying attention, however. All of her thoughts were swarming. _Devon was cheating on Troy. She doesn't want Lauren anymore. She's divorcing him tomorrow. It's just going to be Troy and I. We could be like a family._

She gasped in horror at the very thought. Gabriella scolded herself for ever thinking that. _We could be a _family? she thought disgustedly to herself. Gabriella got divorced three months ago, Troy was being divorced now, and _that_ was what came to her mind?

Gabriella was pulled from her thoughts when she heard movement in the doorway. She looked up and saw Devon standing there, looking angry and annoyed, but not sad. She was holding two suitcases and said to her, "Have a nice life, Gabriella," before turning on her heel and leaving the house, slamming the door with a snap behind her.

The sound of the closing door seemed to echo on forever; it just kept sounding over and over again until Gabriella realized that Jackson was done eating. She clasped her bra and fixed her shirt, throwing a white cloth over her shoulder as she burped Jackson. After a few minutes he burped and his body relaxed, showing signs of drowsiness. She cuddled him in her arms again and led him slowly upstairs, afraid of the new atmosphere in the house. It was no longer easygoing, but tense, and Gabriella detested it.

She entered Jackson's room – which had been moved out of her room and into the second guest room – and laid Jackson on his back in his crib, giving him a quick kiss. His eyes were already drooping. She turned on the baby monitor and then left, closing the door quietly behind her. She then walked down the hall and cautiously poked her head into Troy's room.

He was sitting on his bed, facing the doorway, his elbows resting on his legs. His face was cupped into his hands, and he seemed to be gripping his hair rather tightly. She knocked softly on the door frame, to make her presence known. Troy made no sign that he heard her.

She cleared her throat and stood in the threshold. "Um, well... I'm sorry."

Again, she was met with silence.

"I guess we're in the same boat now, huh?"

This time, Troy responded. "What do you mean?" he asked coolly.

"Well... you know..." Gabriella explained uncomfortably. "We were both cheated on. We're both divorced." She bit her lip nervously.

Troy was silent again. She strode over to the bed and sat down next to him, placing her hand comfortingly on his leg.

"I know how you're feeling, Troy," said Gabriella soothingly.

"No, you don't!" Troy burst out furiously. Gabriella jumped back at his tone. He roughly shoved her hand off his leg and stood up, turning his back to her and striding to the window on the opposite wall. "You have _no idea_, Gabriella, so don't pity me."

Gabriella was abashed. She slowly turned around to face Troy's backside and stood up. Her hands were shaking, and she wasn't sure if it was from anger or despair. "_Pity_?" she asked, fighting to keep her voice under control. "If that was pity, then what was it that _you_ spoke to me in during _my _divorce?"

Troy didn't answer yet again, which irked Gabriella further.

"Stop with the silent treatment, Goddamnit!" she exploded. "You are the biggest hypocrite I have ever met in my life, Troy Bolton. What's the difference in our divorces? Please inform me as to why yours is so much more worse than mine. Why? Because I divorced Nathaniel _before_ I found out? Do you think that makes it hurt any less, knowing that I wasn't good enough for him?" She breathed deeply. "Or are you just feeling embarrassed because _I_ left Nathaniel but Devon left _you_? That you were too blind to notice that your marriage was in trouble unlike me? Is that is? Is it too much for your huge ego to handle?" She gritted her teeth at Troy's silent form. "Fine, you bastard, don't answer me," she hissed, angrier than she'd ever been in her life. "I'll be packing. Jackson and I will be gone before you wake up."

She turned on her heel and stormed out of Troy's room. Upon reaching hers, however, she didn't start packing. Instead, tears sprang to her eyes and she ambled, almost blindly, over to the foot of her bed. She collapsed against the mattress and started to sob noiselessly. She cried for reasons unbeknownst to her – was it that she had no where to go, or that Troy turned out to a two-faced asshole, or of the knowledge that they would never be together after that? She shook her head sadly, tears splashing onto the floor.

_I'm so stupid_, she thought to herself miserably. _How could I have thought that we could be together? We broke up once for a reason – we're not meant to be._ She let out a loud sob. _And I had to toy with the idea and get my hopes up. I should just get used to the fact that I'll never marry again._

Gabriella was so consumed in her thoughts and emotions that she didn't hear anyone approach or enter her room. She had no idea anyone was there until Troy wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, holding her close to him. She immediately stopped crying in surprise, and hiccuped. Troy's breath was warm against her neck, and she shivered. He leaned in closer and she could vaguely hear him say to her, "I came after you this time."

Her breath caught in her throat. She put her hands on his and turned around, in time for his lips to capture hers in a passionate, romantic kiss. It was a beautiful kiss, a kiss they hadn't shared since high school – a kiss she'd only dreamt about.

They broke apart after a moment, panting, but once regaining their breath they embraced again. They stood up, their lips still attached, and Troy slowly lowered her down onto the bed. His tongue started to explore the depths of her mouth for the first time in eight years, and it was a wonderful homecoming.

In a matter of moments their clothes were on the floor, they were under the sheets, more connected than they'd ever been before. As their hips rocked back and forth and their breathing became heavier and faster, Gabriella couldn't help but think that this was where her life had been leading up to all these years; that after this, everything would be complete. This was definitely where she needed to be, at this moment.

As soon as had it started it ended, and they both lay panting, tangled in the sheets, Gabriella's head resting on Troy's chest. His arm was wrapped tightly around her. He leaned toward her, brushing some of her hair out of the way, and whispered softly, "I love you."

Gabriella breathed in deeply through her nose, loving the smell of Troy. "I love you too." She couldn't help but beam.

Troy kept his arm tightly around her shoulders as the two drifted off to sleep, only to be awoken three hours later to the sound of Jackson's high-pitched cries.

Groaning, Gabriella leaned across Troy to read the clock. 2:17. She plopped her head back onto her pillow and said, "He probably needs a diaper change."

"I'll go," said Troy quickly.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course." Troy sat up, grinning down at her. She smiled lightly back up at him, her hair fanned across the pillow. Troy couldn't resist; he leaned down and gave her a quick kiss. "I love you," he said for the second time that night.

"I know," she said playfully. Troy smirked and threw the blankets off of him, dressing himself back in his clothes before leaving the room to tend to Jackson.

Gabriella grinned at his back, and noticed just then that she was shaking from the cold. She tossed the sheets off from around her body and stood up, naked. She stared at her clothes for a moment before walking towards the mirror next to the dresser. She examined her body, critically, immediately noticing all of her flaws. Her hip bones stuck up, her knees and shoulders were bigger than normal, and her stomach was slightly pudgy. Poking it, she wondered what Troy saw in her at all.

Sighing, she slowly dressed back into her night clothes and sat down on the bed, shaking even more. What was going to happen to her and Troy now? Would they go back to just living with each other as friends (if that's what you could call them)? Would Gabriella eventually move out when she got a job and could afford an apartment? Would they... Gabriella gulped as the word 'marriage' crossed her brain.

She continued to shiver.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN:** I was going to update this tomorrow, but I'm going to the movies so I was like hey why not now? So here it is. Small, 5-page chapter, not much happens, but oh well. I'm glad you all liked the last chapter. ;-) I told you it was a good one, didn't I? But never fear, there is much more to come.

Two chapter + an epilogue left... the countdown has begun.

BTW my AIM is spazzing out... just in case you were wondering, which you probably weren't, but oh well. Just a heads-up, I guess.

OH and one more thing: view my profile and my freewebs for more information about HSM Fanfiction Idol, Season 1. It's a writing competition, naturally, and I'm one of the judges! So go check out the forum and sign-up!

**Title: **_With You  
_**Rating:** _T  
_**Author: **_MadiWillow  
_**Summary: **_Troy is married with a small daughter. Gabriella is married and pregnant. They didn't keep in touch after school following a nasty break-up, but everyone knows that true love never dies.  
_**Genre:** _Drama/Romance  
_**Chapter: **_Chapter 10_

Gabriella didn't fall asleep that night. After Troy had returned from changing Jackson's diaper, he'd invited her to sleep in his room. She'd been very grateful and spent most of the night laying in his arms while he slept soundly, getting up for midnight feeding's for Jackson. She was so consumed in her thoughts and doubts about Troy that she wasn't sure if she was happy about sleeping with him or... not.

When Troy finally woke up and started to make breakfast for the three of them, Gabriella had bags under her eyes from another night of missed sleep. Jackson slept in his crib (_he_ never had any problem sleeping) while Gabriella got Lauren up and brought the sixteen-month-old girl downstairs.

"Good morning," said Troy, happier than Gabriella had seen him in a long time. She smiled at him and started to walk by, but Troy stopped her by grabbing her arm. She turned to face him and he captured her lips in a kiss, kissing her for a few seconds before pulling away, grinning.

She smiled back at him, slightly uncomfortable, and said, "Good morning." Lauren giggled loudly and clapped, causing the two of them to jump and glance at her.

"Gab, Gab! Gab, Gab!" she squealed happily and Gabriella laughed.

"Want a pancake?" Gabriella cooed at her. "Want a yummy pancake?"

Lauren laughed happily. Gabriella loved how Lauren was always so blissful, even after just waking up. She was generally an exultant little girl and Gabriella loved playing with her.

Gabriella sat her down in her highchair and strapped her in so she didn't try and stand up – something she'd started doing since learning how to walk better. Gabriella sat in a chair and started to play "Peek-a-boo" with her, one of Lauren's favorite games.

A few moments later Troy had finished with breakfast and set their plates of pancakes in front of them. Lauren yelled happily and took a tiny piece of food that Troy had cut up for her. Gabriella beamed. "I know I say this all the time, but she's so adorable."

"She's not the only one," said Troy, looking at her.

Gabriella blushed at his words and looked down at her food, feeling his stare burning into her neck. The rest of the meal proceeded in silence, with the exception of Lauren's laughing, until Troy stood up with his clean plate. "Lauren and I need to go run an errand," he announced.

Gabriella jumped and looked up. "Oh, okay. Do you, um, want me to come?" she offered.

He shook his head. "No, you stay home. You're tired and you probably need some rest."

She nodded. "Okay." She smiled weakly.

He grinned and bent down to kiss her lightly on the mouth. He removed Lauren from her highchair and, a few moments later, they were gone.

Gabriella listened for a minute to make sure she didn't hear his car coming back before jumping from her chair and running up the stairs. She burst into her bedroom, quickly grabbed her suitcases from under her bed, and started throwing her things haphazardly into them.

She ran around frantically, grabbing all of her and Jackson's clothes, her makeup, personal possessions, and money from the room and bathroom in a matter of minutes. Due to everything being packed so messily she could barely close the bags, but managed to nonetheless. She stuffed all of Jackson's necessities into his diaper bag before slowly picking up said child and putting him in his car seat. She brought her stuff downstairs and quickly left a note.

_Dear Troy,_ she wrote. _I'm sorry for doing this, but I have to leave. I need time to clear my head, organize my thoughts, and figure out what I'm feeling for you. I need to know if what happened last night was a good thing or something I'm going to regret. I'm very sorry. Please, don't try and find me. I'll come back, when I'm ready. Love, Gabriella. _

She took one last look at the letter and sighed sadly, quickly taping it onto the fridge. She quickly called for a cab to come pick her up (not wanting her car sitting in a parking lot for God knows how long) and dragged her bags after her in one hand whilst carrying Jackson in the other. She waited five minutes until a taxi arrived. The kind driver helped her by loading the trunk of with her luggage and Gabriella strapped Jackson's car seat into the backseat.

The fifteen minute drive to Buffalo Niagara International Airport was silent, until they arrived at the loading zone and Gabriella thanked and paid the drive. He unloaded her luggage for her and she thanked him again, quickly bustling through the crowd into the Southwest Airlines line.

She waited in line to buy her tickets and was lucky enough to get two for a flight to Tampa, Florida, leaving an hour and a half from then. She checked out her large suitcase and took Jackson, her carry-on bag, and Jackson's diaper bag through security (which took a good half hour). She bought a couple of magazines for the ride and a few candy bars before reaching her gate, with forty-five minutes left until take-off.

Gabriella was startled when she heard her cell phone ring. She took it out and glanced at the Caller ID; her heart sunk when the word _Troy_ flashed across it. She bit the inside of her mouth as she stared at her phone, silently debating on whether or not to open it. Finally, she shut it off and slid it slowly back into her pocket, breathing deeply. She felt truly horrible about her actions, but she just couldn't be around Troy.

The plane started to board twenty minutes later, and Gabriella got to board first, due to having a small child her. She got a window and middle seat right in the front of the plane and waited patiently for take off.

The flight was long, boring, and largely uneventful. Gabriella didn't sleep, no matter how tired she was, as she had to keep an eye on Jackson. Halfway through the flight he started to cry quite loudly after being fed. Very embarrassed, Gabriella tried playing with him but to no avail. He didn't need a diaper change nor did he want his pacifier. His cries had grown into shrieks and many people were shooting Gabriella dirty looks. She started to bite her lip again, wishing that the plane would somehow speed up the flight, before remembering what Troy had done to calm Jackson down that first day she moved in. Gabriella lifted him up to her shoulder and lightly started patting his back, whispering soothing words to him as she did so. Slowly but surely his cries subsided and he fell asleep. Gabriella carefully strapped him back into his seat, elated that she'd successfully stopped his crying and gotten him to sleep.

She spent the remainder of the flight staring out the window, trying to figure out what she was doing. _Why am I doing this?_ She asked herself. _Why do I have to run away? Why can't I just be happy with Troy? Why must I make everything so complicated?_

I'm_ not making everything complicated,_ she argued with herself. _Everything just _is_ complicated. I'm trying to simplify it._

She sighed miserably and shook her head. Her life sure was messed up.

An hour later the plane landed and it took a good fifteen minutes before she, Jackson, and her carry-on luggage were off the plane. Wishing she'd brought his stroller, Gabriella carried Jackson in his seat through the airport and, after grabbing her large suitcase from the conveyer-belt, stepped outside into the humid, August Tampa weather. She waited in line at the loading zone for a taxi, and this time her driver wasn't as nice. She didn't bother with the trunk and just stuffed her luggage into the back seat with her and Jackson. She gave him her designated address and he didn't even answer her, just drove.

Twenty minutes later she'd arrived in front of a very suburban-looking house. It was an All-American house; white picket fence, nice garden, average-sized. Gabriella smiled up at it. She loved this house.

Juggling her bags and Jackson in her arms, she stumbled up the steps after the taxi drove away. She put down her bags so she could ring the doorbell and then waited patiently.

"Jessie! JESSIE, DON'T TOUCH THAT!" came a screech from inside the house. "Chad, can you _please_ discipline your son?" Gabriella heard the lock turn and the door swung open to reveal her best friend. Taylor Danforth was standing in the doorway, wearing jeans and an overlarge T-shirt, her hair pulled messily into a ponytail.

"Taylor!" Gabriella squealed, setting down Jackson and throwing her arms around Taylor, hugging her tightly. Taylor hugged her weakly back.

When Gabriella pulled away, Taylor asked, "Gabriella... what are you doing here?"

"Well, I, uh..." Gabriella picked up Jackson's seat. "I need a place to stay."

"Oh, my God, is that little _Jackson_?" Taylor cried ecstatically. "He's so adorable! And he looks just like you, Gabriella!" Taylor beamed up at her. "Come on in!"

"Thanks, Taylor," said Gabriella, relieved, as she swept past Taylor and into their foyer.

"Hey, Taylor, who's at the door!?" called Chad.

Taylor yelled back, "Come see for yourself!"

Gabriella set Jackson's seat on the ground and bent over to unstrap him. She picked him up and jiggled him in her arms as his eyes flew open, surveying his new surroundings. "Hey, little guy!" she cooed. "Loud house, huh?"

Taylor laughed and a moment later, Chad appeared in the threshold between the kitchen and the foyer-slash-living room. He was holding a two-year-old boy upside down by the ankle. The little boy was giggling like crazy and his curly afro was sticking straight out.

"CHAD! Put Jessie down, he's gonna get a headache!" snapped Taylor, her hands on her hips.

"Put him down? Okay." Chad strode over to the living room couch and dropped Jessie onto it. He bounced a couple of times on it and laughed gleefully. "Now, who-" he started, but stopped as he finally rested his eyes on Gabriella. She smiled and waved at him, laughing slightly. "Gabriella!" he cried, striding over to her and enveloping her in a side huge. "What are you doing here? Is this Jackson?"

"Yup." Gabriella held Jackson out in her arms and Chad bent down on his knees to study him.

"He's beautiful, Gabriella," said Chad truthfully. "He looks just like you."

"Yeah, that's what Taylor said," Gabriella said proudly, lifting Jackson up to her own face. She kissed his nose lightly.

"Gabriella's gonna stay with us for a while," Taylor announced to Chad. "Do you think you can take her stuff to the guest room?"

"Uh... sure," said Chad, reaching down to pick up her things. "You remember where it is, right?"

Gabriella nodded and Chad disappeared down a hallway. Gabriella made to follow him but Taylor stopped her.

"Wait. Sit," she ordered, and Gabriella immediately sat down on the living room couch. Taylor sat across from her, in the love seat, and demanded, "What are you doing here?"

"What, I can't come and visit?" asked Gabriella innocently. "After all, I haven't seen Kyle yet and you haven't seen Jackson yet..."

"You know that's not the reason," Taylor said. "Something's wrong – I know it."

Gabriella just shrugged, not making eye contact with her friend. Taylor got up and leaned down in front of her. "Gabriella, please tell me what's wrong. I want to help you."

Pursing her lips, Gabriella slowly shook her head. Her eyes started to shine with tears but she blinked them back. "You can't help me," she whispered.

"You make it sound so dramatic," said Taylor quietly.

Gabriella let out a small laugh and sniffled. "Don't worry; it's nothing absolutely horrible that threatens my life or anything. I just..." she sighed. "I need to figure this out on my own."

Taylor nodded. "It's okay. I understand."

Gabriella smiled at Taylor. "Thanks so much." She leaned forward and embraced her friend again. "And thank you for letting me stay here," Gabriella added as she pulled away. "It's just I have no money and no job, and I-"

"Gabriella," laughed Taylor, holding up a hand to silence her. "Don't worry about. What are friends for, right?"

"Right," giggled Gabriella. As she stood up, Jackson started to fuss.

"Aw, what's wrong with the wittle bay-bee?" cooed Taylor, sticking her face right in front of Jackson's. This form of affection only caused Jackson to wail louder.

Gabriella laughed. "Good job, Taylor." She jiggled Jackson in her arm's a bit. "I think he's hungry."

Taylor folded her arms across her chest. "Kyle likes it when I do that," she pouted, ignoring Gabriella's words completely.

"Oh, that reminds me, I haven't seen him yet!" Gabriella looked around. "Where is he?"

"Sleeping. All that kid does is eat and sleep." Taylor rolled his eyes.

The dark-haired girl laughed again. "I know how that is."

Taylor smirked.

"Gabriella?" Chad poked his head out of the hallway. "Your room is all ready. Oh, and I brought Kyle's old travel crib out from the garage for Jackson."

Gabriella smiled. "Thanks, Chad." She turned to Taylor. "Thanks both of you."

"Stop thanking us!" exclaimed Taylor. "Geez, Gabriella, you're too nice."

"And that's a bad thing?" asked Gabriella, grinning. Jackson's fussing turned into cries and Gabriella looked down at him. "I'm sorry, I forgot about you!" she cooed.

Jessie ran in from the family room, his hands over his ears. "Loud baby," he said, his eyebrows furrowed.

Gabriella laughed. "Don't worry, I'll quiet him down." She walked past Jessie, ruffling his wild hair, and strode through the hallway into the guest bedroom that she always occupied when she stayed here.

The moment she entered the room, the cheery smile slid completely off her face. As she nursed Jackson on the reclining chair near the bed, the tears finally started to spill down her cheeks. She lowered her head so that her hair covered her face, and wept silently.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN:** Okay, I really _should_ stop saying this, but this chapter is highly uneventful. I'll refrain from saying 'boring' but in this chapter, it really IS uneventful. One interesting thing happens, and everything else is kinda pointless. Good news, though, is that it's long! Although, depending on how you look at it, that could be bad news. It's long, but nother happens, so it's like 8 pages of 'near pointless'. But I'll just stop typing now.

Okay, so I lied before. Chapter 12 is my absolute favorite chapter. And I love the epilogue too. Those two are tied and chapter 9 comes in third. But anyway, look forward to those.

Again: Please check out the HSM Fanfiction Idol forum. We really need people to sign up. :-) You KNOW it'll be fun! And come on, I'm a judge. Isn't that reason enough? ;-)

**Title: **_With You  
_**Rating:** _T  
_**Author: **_MadiWillow  
_**Summary: **_Troy is married with a small daughter. Gabriella is married and pregnant. They didn't keep in touch after school following a nasty break-up, but everyone knows that true love never dies.  
_**Genre:** _Drama/Romance  
_**Chapter: **_Chapter 11_

Gabriella loved everything about the Danforth house; the smell of baby powder and burst toast, the loud and carefree atmosphere of young children constantly at play. Every time Gabriella went there she felt like she was at home. She wasn't sure why, but Taylor's house always seemed much more welcoming than anywhere else she'd ever lived.

Jessie and Kyle were two of the most adorable boys she'd ever seen, even if they were a bit out of control. Both of them looked exactly like their father; dark skin, dark eyes, wild, curly hair – although Kyle's wasn't as big as Jessie's or Chad's yet, seeing as he was only four months old. The only similarity they had of Taylor's was maybe their noses or chins; for the most part, they were miniature Chad's, in both looks and personality. On Gabriella's first day with them, Taylor complained about how much she wanted a daughter.

During Gabriella's second week with the Danforth's, Taylor took her out for lunch so they could catch up, leaving Chad to take care of Jessie, Kyle, and Jackson. Throughout the entire meal, Taylor kept trying to get Gabriella to tell her what was wrong, but Gabriella was adamant about keeping silent. Taylor finally gave up and the rest of the meal was enjoyable, what with Taylor entertaining Gabriella with stories of the type of things her two boys got into.

When they returned to their house, however, they found it smelling of dirty diapers and burnt milk (not as good a smell as burnt toast), and Chad was running after Jessie in the living room. Jessie was laughing happily but Chad looked beside himself. "Jessie, please, _please_ come back-"

"Chad? What's going on?" Taylor nearly yelled over the sound of Kyle and Jackson crying loudly in their respective rooms.

Chad caught sight of them and his face turned to that of anger. He stood in front of them, hands on his hips, a half empty bottle in one hand and a pajama shirt dangling from the other, and scolded them, "Where were you?"

"We were at lunch," Gabriella informed him. "I think we told you that..."

"You guys were gone for an hour and a half!" he snapped. "Do you know how hard it is to take care of three screaming boys?!"

Taylor crossed her arms. "No, tell me, Chad. After all, I don't watch them every day when you're at _work_."

Chad gaped at her for a moment before stuttering, "W-well... you only watch... two."

Gabriella giggled.

Chad blinked a couple times before firing up again. "Anyway, you should know not to let me watch them for too long! I'm a guy, I don't know how to do this kind of stuff!"

"Well, the point of an all-girl's outing is so we can get away from the kids for about an hour and have time for _ourselves_," Taylor informed him.

"Okay, yeah, so how about you go take a girl's day out and your children will get taken away by social services. That sound good to you?" mocked Chad.

Taylor rolled her eyes. She removed the pajamas from Chad's hand and hit him with it. "You go get Kyle. I'll catch Jessie."

"Thank you!" sighed Chad. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the mouth, causing Gabriella to laugh again.

As she was walking away from them, she heard Taylor slap Chad again and say, "Chad! Stop, we have work to do!"

Gabriella entered her room to find it smelling horribly from Jackson's dirty diaper. She quickly changed him and lay him on his back on her bed to play with him, but before she could, a huge wave of nausea hit her.

She stumbled slightly, holding her head as everything started to spin. She picked up Jackson and placed him safely inside of his crib. Just in time, too – at that moment she felt bile rising up in her throat and ran into her adjoining bathroom, lifting up the seat of the toilet as she threw up.

Cold sweat had gathered on her forehead when she was done, and she flushed the toilet, sitting on the closed seat shakily. She was pale and clammy all of a sudden, and her hands were shaking. She walked towards the sink, her legs feeling like blocks of lead, and stood before the large mirror. Her face was as white as a ghost and her brown eyes looked somewhat lighter and sunken. She pulled her hair back, away from her sweaty neck.

"The food must've not agreed with me," she told herself groggily. She stumbled into the bedroom and quickly changed into a pair of sweats and a sweatshirt, suddenly feeling very cold despite the late August heat. She slipped under the covers of her bed and lay there, shivering slightly.

She fell asleep for a few minutes, only to be awoken by Jackson's cries. Gabriella groaned, but threw the covers off her body nonetheless. She stood up, knowing that Jackson probably needed to be fed, but before she could reach him her head started to spin again.

"Oh, no..." she groaned, and before the knew it, she was hunched over the toilet, puking her guts out once again.

"Taylor!" cried Gabriella weakly from her position in the bathroom. "Taylor..." she trailed off as more bile reached her mouth.

When she was done five minutes later, Jackson was screaming. Gabriella flushed the toilet once again and stepped into her bedroom, jumping at the sight of Chad standing there with the shrieking Jackson in his hands.

"Oh, I can do that," Gabriella slurred, her head pounding.

"No, you're sick," said Chad, concerned.

"It's just food poisoning," protested Gabriella.

"Nevertheless," Chad stated. "You should rest. Don't worry, we can take care of Jackson for you."

"But he's hungry..."

"We have formula."

Gabriella sighed. "Okay. If you're sure."

"Of course I'm sure. Go on to bed," Chad winked.

She didn't need telling twice; Gabriella climbed into her bed and gathered herself under the covers, curling into the fetal position to try and keep warm. She shivered anyway, her teeth chattering loudly, as she tried to fall asleep.

_I wish Troy were here..._ she found herself thinking as she finally fell into unconsciousness.

Gabriella woke up an hour later to her stomach churning and threw up for a third time. Thoroughly disgusted at her sickness, she spat into the toilet before flushing, and this time brushed her teeth to rid herself of the gross taste in her mouth before climbing back into bed.

She spent the rest of the day sleeping and throwing up on-and-off, waking up at random hours of the day from nausea and passing out when it passed. It was the longest day she'd ever suffered through, and when she woke up at seven the next morning, feeling good as new, she was elated.

She dressed in jeans and a T-shirt and wandered into the kitchen, where she was Chad passed out on the couch, an empty bottle in one hand and a happy Jackson in his arms.

"Hey buddy," cooed Gabriella, lifting him from Chad's grasp. "I missed you yesterday. Sorry I got so sick, honey!"

Chad started, his eyes flying open from the movement of Jackson leaving his arms. "What you want!?" he yelled, before his eyes focused in on the laughing Gabriella. "Oh. Gabriella. It's just you."

She giggled. "Just me."

Chad stood up and dusting off his pants, setting the bottle on the coffee table. "Feeling better, I see?"

"Yup. I feel one hundred perfect better," she announced.

"That's great." Chad grinned before yawning. "Well," he stated. "I think I'm gonna go get some sleep before Taylor wakes me up."

"Okay, bye," said Gabriella, jiggling Jackson in her arms.

After Chad left the room, the house was eerily quiet. Gabriella cleared her throat loudly and glanced down at Jackson, who was chewing on his fingers whilst staring at the blank television. Gabriella sighed and said, "This is fun." Her words echoed throughout the house and she wished someone would wake up. When nothing happened she sighed again and walked back to her room.

"Okay, now where were we yesterday?" she asked Jackson. "Oh, yeah." She lay Jackson on her bed, lifted up his shirt, and blew a loud raspberry on his stomach. Jackson giggled happily and Gabriella gasped. "Jackson, you laughed!" she cried gleefully. "Oh you're so _cute_!" she cooed, pinching his cheeks gently. She tickled him under the arms and he giggled again.

She leaned over and picked up her cell phone to take a picture, but when she opened she saw _You have 31 missed calls and 12 voice messages_ flashing at her. She bit her lip guiltily and saw that every single one of them was from Troy. She debated with herself for a long time on whether or not she should listen to the messages or call Troy back. _No, I came here for a reason,_ she told herself firmly, and shut off her phone, closing it with a snap.

The snap startled Jackson, causing him to jump, and slowly his face screwed up and he started to cry.

"Oh, no, Jackson, don't cry!" said Gabriella quickly, picking him up and jiggling him in her arms. "Shh, sh, it's okay." When he didn't stop, she rolled her eyes and said quietly, "Maybe they'll wake up now."

After letting Jackson cry loudly for a few minutes, long enough to wake up Taylor, Gabriella put him over her shoulder and started to pat his back, the only thing that would ever calm him down. She wondered briefly how often Troy did this when she lived with him and how it had affected Jackson.

A few moments later, as Gabriella predicted, Taylor was awake and had come to pay her a visit. "Hey," she said, leaning against the door frame. "Feeling better?"

"Much!" said Gabriella happily. "I feel as if I was never sick. Hey!" she said suddenly. "Let's go for a walk today!"

"Why?" inquired Taylor.

Gabriella shrugged. "Why not? It's nice out and I wanna get out of the house – no offence," she added quickly. "But I love going outside. Whaddya say?"

Taylor shrugged. "Okay." She cracked a smile. "But this time, let's actually take the kids with us, okay?"

The former giggled. "Deal."

Gabriella brought Jackson into the family room with her and sprawled Jackson out on a blanket with some toys to occupy himself while Taylor got some cereal from the cupboards. "What do you want?"

"I'll have Cheerio's," she said, surprising even herself. Her mind instantly went to Lauren and Gabriella realized how much she missed her, but she shook the thought from her mind.

"Watching your cholesterol, are we?" Taylor joked.

"Oh, you know it," said Gabriella seriously.

Taylor poured her some cereal, milk, and orange juice, and Gabriella was just about to take a bite when Taylor said, "Um, Gabriella, didn't you put Jackson on his back?"

"Yeah, why?" asked Gabriella, her spoon halfway to her mouth.

Taylor slowly smiled and pointed. Gabriella turned around and saw Jackson laying on his stomach.

"Oh, my God!" she yelled excitedly, dropping her spoon back into the bowl, causing milk and bits of cereal to fly everywhere. She took no notice.. "He rolled over! He rolled over, right!?" she said to Taylor.

Laughing, Taylor responded, "Yeah, I think so."

Gabriella screamed excitedly and bustled over to Jackson, gently turning him back onto his back. "Do it again, Jackson. Please? For Mommy?"

Jackson smiled and sat there, looking at her.

"Go on, get the toy!" Gabriella pointed but Jackson didn't move. Gabriella frowned and looked up at her friend. "Taylor-"

"Look!" pointed Taylor and Gabriella looked back at Jackson. Jackson was on his side, his back turned to Gabriella, and was reaching for a set of red and black plastic keys that he liked to chew on. For a few seconds he was balanced on his arm before toppling over onto his stomach. He wasn't strong enough to prop himself up on his elbows, but he was able to lift up his head and grab the keys, sucking on them in his mouth.

"Taylor, he rolled over!" cried Gabriella ecstatically. "He rolled over!" She picked up Jackson and turned him over, so that he was facing her. "You are _such_ a big boy!" she said to him in her baby-voice. All he did was giggle and drool dripped from his mouth. "Ech," said Gabriella. "Okay, you can go play again." She put him back down on his back, where he lay contentedly, happily chewing on his keys.

Taylor laughed at Gabriella's excited display but was interrupted by the ringing phone. As Gabriella sat back down to eat, Taylor answered it, still laughing slightly. "Hello?" There was a pause and Taylor said slowly, "Oh... hi, Troy."

Gabriella looked up in horror and dropped her spoon again, with a clatter that was loud enough to wake up the whole house. She glanced at Jackson quickly, but he didn't cry. She turned back to Taylor and mouthed, "NO."

"Gabriella?" said Taylor, staring at said woman. "Um, no, I haven't talked to her in a few weeks... why?"

"What's going on?" came Chad's voice in the hallway. A few seconds later he appeared in the family room, looking exhausted.

"Sh!" said Gabriella frantically and Chad raised an eyebrow.

"Here? Um, no, she's not here. Why would she be here?" said Taylor unconvincingly. Gabriella rolled her eyes as Taylor continued, "I'm sure she's fine, Troy. She probably just went to... get away," she finished lamely and Chad eyed them both suspiciously. "Yes, if I hear from her I'll call you. Okay, bye."

As soon as Taylor hung up the phone, Gabriella groaned. "Could you have _been_ any more obvious?"

Taylor held up her hands in self-defense. "Hey, this isn't my problem. You told me to lie and I did. Against my better judgement, might I add."

Gabriella sighed. "Yeah, okay." She took another bite of her food and chewed thoughtfully. After swallowing she said brightly, "When do you wanna go on that walk?"

"What walk?" asked Chad.

"Taylor and I are gonna take the kids on a walk," explained Gabriella happily. "Wanna come?"

"Um, you know, I think I'm gonna stay here," he answered. "Jessie was up all night because of Jackson and Kyle so he'll be really tired. I'll stay with him."

Gabriella shrugged. "That's fine."

"I'll go feed Kyle and then we'll go, okay?" said Taylor and Gabriella nodded in agreement.

Ten minutes later, after everyone had been fed, burped, and changed, Taylor and Gabriella left, each pushing a stroller with their respective son. Chad waved them a cheerful good-bye, and when he was sure they were gone, he went back into the family room and searched their phone for past calls.

When he found Troy's number, he pressed call and waited. He didn't have to wait long, however, for Troy to answer – he heard Troy's voice say, "Hello? Gabriella?" after the first ring.

"No, man, it's Chad."

"Oh," said Troy, downtrodden. "Well, I mean – it's nice to hear from you, but I just-"

"You're looking for Gabriella?" tried Chad.

Troy sighed. "Yeah." There was a pause before he said, "Was Taylor... lying to me?"

"Uh... yeah," said Chad. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have let her, but Gabriella really doesn't want you to know where she is for some reason."

"Oh," Troy repeated sadly.

There was a long silence before Chad asked cautiously, "Do _you_ know why she left?"

"Yeah... I-I think so," said Troy slowly.

"Why?" asked Chad. "She won't tell us anything-"

"I think," said Troy, "that if she doesn't want you to know, I shouldn't tell you. Besides, if she's unsure of what to do, telling people wouldn't be the best thing for _me_ to do right now."

Chad nodded. "Well, then what are you gonna do? Come down here and get her?"

Troy laughed lightly. "No, that probably would be the second worst thing for me to do. She's hard a hard few months and I should just give her her space for now. She'll come back when she's ready... I hope," he added, his voice filled with such despair that Chad felt uncomfortable. He cleared his throat nervously and was about to say good-bye, when Troy said, "So how is she? And Jackson? What have they been up to?"

"They're good," said Chad. "Gabriella was sick all day yesterday – she and Taylor went out to lunch and I think she got food poisoning. She was throwing up and everything."

"Is she okay?" asked Troy, concerned.

"Oh, yeah, she's fine," said Chad quickly. "Yeah, don't even worry about. She and Taylor are on a walk with the boys right now. Oh," said Chad, suddenly remembering. "And I woke up this morning to Gabriella screaming with happiness because Jackson rolled over."

"He rolled over?" Troy breathed. "Already?"

"Yeah," said Chad, interested in this fatherly tone Troy was talking in.

"Wow..." Troy trailed off.

Chad cleared his throat again and said, "Well, I, uh, better get going. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Yeah. And if anything... bad happens... will you please call me?"

"Of course, man!" said Chad. "I'll see you later."

"Bye," said Troy miserably, and Chad hung up.

Chad yawned and turned Jessie's baby monitor on before laying down on the couch, curled up, ready to take a nice needed nap, when the front door burst open. He sat up quickly, rubbing his eyes and mumbling about never getting a break. He stood up in time for Gabriella to run past him, hand over mouth, to her bathroom. Taylor ran after her, crying, "Gabriella! Are you okay?" She stopped briefly to tell Chad to take the boys out of their strollers before tearing after Gabriella again.

Taylor found Gabriella hunched over her toilet, throwing up yet again. Taylor helped hold her hair back as Gabriella puked. When she was finally done, and felt like the had emptied all of her internal organs into the toilet as well, Gabriella flushed the toilet and closed it, sitting on top of it. She was shaking again.

"I don't know why I keep throwing up," she said with her eyes closed. "I feel awful and disgusting." She sighed. "Does food poisoning usually last this long?"

Taylor shrugged. She went Gabriella's toothbrush and squeezed some toothpaste on it for her, holding it out to her friend. "Here."

Gabriella smiled thankfully, brushing her teeth and tongue furiously. Once she had spat it out and gurgled some water, she turned to Taylor and said, "Now I feel perfectly fine. I feel like I could go outside and jump around and I wouldn't get sick."

"Well, don't, because you probably will," said Taylor firmly. She pushed Gabriella onto her bed and dug through her drawers, tossing her a pair of pajamas pants and a tank top. "Wear that, just to stay comfortable. I think you should stay inside, or at least near a toilet or bucket, until you're sure whatever you have has passed."

Gabriella nodded. "Thanks Taylor. You're the best." She grinned.

"I know," laughed Taylor.


	12. Chapter 12

**AN:** You guys are just too smart for me. I was hoping you'd all be too stupid to notice, but I guess not. ;-) I'm sure you all know by now what's up with Gabriella. I was TRYING to play it down, by being like "yeah the whole chapter is pointless and only one interesting thing happens" but alas, it didn't work. Oh well. I still like to think of it as a big twist because no one thought it was gonna happen right after Troy and Gabriella slept together, so that's good too.

Oh and THANK YOU SO MUCH to all of my reviewers! This is my first story to reach 300 reviews and I'm so grateful. I LOVE YOU ALL!!!! And I know some of you are probably like "300? psh, been there, done that!" but for me it's like OMGOMG. K, I'm done. Here's the final chapter of With You, with the **epilogue coming up soon!** Perhaps tomorrow? ;-)

I was going to post this at the same time I posted my new one-shot, but that story is turning out to be really long so I wasn't able to finish it. I'll try and have it up tomorrow though (seroiusly, it's 9 pages in and I'm barely half way done, haha).

**Title: **_With You  
_**Rating:** _T  
_**Author: **_MadiWillow  
_**Summary: **_Troy is married with a small daughter. Gabriella is married and pregnant. They didn't keep in touch after school following a nasty break-up, but everyone knows that true love never dies.  
_**Genre:** _Drama/Romance  
_**Chapter: **_Chapter 12_

Over the course of the next few days, Gabriella kept getting sick. She'd feel fine one moment, but would be hunched over and throwing up like there was no tomorrow the next. She felt horrible and couldn't keep anything down. Taylor tried to get her to see a doctor, but Gabriella protested.

"Don't worry, Taylor, I'm fine," Gabriella would say, but as each day went by and Gabriella didn't get better, Taylor started to worry.

Finally, a week had passed since Gabriella and Taylor's lunch date and Gabriella was still sick. On that morning Taylor had gone to the drugstore for some milk and had picked a couple things up for Gabriella as well.

Taylor entered her friend's room upon her return and slowly shook her awake. It took a few moments, as Taylor knew that Gabriella had probably been up all night throwing up, but her eyes finally fluttered open.

"Gabriella, I need to talk to you," said Taylor softly.

Instead of answering, Gabriella clapped a hand over her mouth and tore into the bathroom. Taylor ran after her and held her hair back as Gabriella was sick into the toilet.

After a couple of minutes, Gabriella spat the remains into the toilet and flushed, her face clammy, as she panted. She thanks Taylor wearily as she stood up shakily. She turned on the faucet and grabbed her toothbrush. "What'd you wanna talk about?" she asked as she started brushing.

"That," said Taylor, pointing to the toilet.

Gabriella raised her eyebrows and spat into the sink. "Do you want a new toilet?"

Taylor rolled her eyes. "No. About why you keep throwing up."

Gabriella sighed. "Nothing is wrong with me, Taylor. I probably just got food poisoning."

"Please," said Taylor, waving that away. "You know as well as I do that food poisoning doesn't last a week. Besides, people with food poisoning can't even move. You, on the other hand – well, after that first day – throw up and then get right back on your feet in a matter of seconds. And you're not suspicious about that?"

Gabriella just shrugged again, setting her toothbrush down. "Maybe I exhibit different symptoms."

"Maybe," said Taylor, unconvinced. "Or maybe not." She grabbed Gabriella by the wrist and dragged her out of her room and down the hall.

"Um, Taylor, what-?"

Taylor led her through the family room, into her bedroom, past the unmade bed, and into the master bathroom.

"Do you want me to throw up here instead?" asked Gabriella, confused.

Once again, Taylor didn't answer. She leaned down and opened a cabinet under her sink. Gabriella leaned closer curiously, only to find two pregnancy tests staring her in the face.

She nearly fell over in shock. "Taylor, are you pregnant!?"

Taylor's mouth fell open. "_I'm_ not the one throwing up at every time of day!"

It took Gabriella a moment to comprehend her friends words. "Wait... so you're saying..." she began weakly, "that _I'm_ p-"

Taylor nodded. Gabriella felt the color leave her face as she sat down on the floor, kneading her temple with her fingers.

"No... Taylor, I can't be..."

Taylor put a comforting hand on Gabriella's shoulder. "Did you sleep with Troy?" she whispered. "Is that why you left?"

Gabriella didn't have to say anything; the tears streaming down her cheeks were answer enough. "Taylor, I don't wanna be pregnant," she wailed.

Taylor scooted over to her and put her arm around her best friend's shoulders. "It's okay Gabriella. It's not the end of the world."

"No, but it is!" cried Gabriella. "Because if I'm pregnant with Troy's baby, then we have something linking us together and I don't want that!"

"But... why?"

Gabriella remained silent, and Taylor sighed dejectedly.

"Gabriella, you showed up here three weeks ago. Troy has no idea where you are, and you won't tell me, or Chad, or anyone else, why you left. Is this why? You don't love him?

Slowly, Gabriella shook her head, her eyes unfocused. "No, I do love him... that's the problem."

Taylor waited patiently for Gabriella to elaborate. When she didn't, she said, "Maybe I'm just slow, but that doesn't make sense."

Gabriella didn't answer right away. She was thinking of her answer; the best way she could explain her predicament to Taylor. "Devon divorced Troy," she started, and Taylor just nodded, having already been informed of this. "That night, Troy told me he loved me and we slept together. I had no idea what to do, or how I was feeling, so I left," she explained. "And well... it's just... I _do_ love Troy. And I have since I was 15. Even though he was a jackass the night he dumped me, and I didn't see him for years, I still loved him, deep down inside. And now..." She paused, thinking carefully, before rewording her statement. "I'm scared."

Taylor let Gabriella have a few seconds to herself before asking, "You're scared? Of what?"

"Of getting hurt again," Gabriella whispered, tears leaking from her eyes again. She took in a deep, shaky breath. "I've only loved two people in my whole life. First Troy, and that originally ended horribly. Then Nathaniel, and that ended even worse. So when I thought that Troy and I were going to have something together, I just... ran. I don't want him to have another opportunity to hurt me again or to hurt me like Nathaniel did."

"Honey, Troy would never cheat on you!" Taylor assured her.

She shrugged. "He kissed me when he and Devon were still married. And sometimes he would hint at still liking me. He slept with me a half an hour after his wife of almost two years, a woman he has a child with, told him she's divorcing him. So how do I know that if Troy and I got together, he wouldn't do the same thing to someone else?"

"Because Troy loves you," Taylor reminded her.

"He also loved Devon," said Gabriella quietly.

Taylor sighed, frustrated. "Okay, Gabriella." Taylor took her crying friend's hands in her own. "Tell me. When did you start doubting Nathaniel was a good husband?"

Gabriella flushed. "Well, it was a gradual thing – I don't have a specific date-"

"Was it when you met up with Troy again?"

"No! I was doubting it before then-"

"Well, when did you consider divorce?"

Gabriella pursed her lips and didn't answer. Taylor nodded in satisfaction.

"Okay then. So how do you know that the same thing with happen with Troy came back into your life?"

"Because _Devon_ left _him_!" cried Gabriella miserably. "I was living with them for three months. If Troy had wanted to, he could've divorced her at any time-"

"How do you know he wasn't going to leave her soon?"

Gabriella sighed. "Taylor, you obviously don't know what you're talking about."

"And you do?"

Gabriella glared at her. "Troy was distraught after she told him she was filing for divorce! He still loved her!"

Taylor raised an eyebrow. "Distraught enough to sleep with you?"

"_Exactly_!"said Gabriella triumphantly. "His wife of two years leaves him and the first thing he does is have sex. What does that say about him?"

"That he's been in love with you for forever and realized that Devon leaving him was the best thing that had ever happened to him?" suggested Taylor without missing a beat. She stood up and held out a hand for Gabriella, helping her up. "Come on. You know that I'm right. You and Troy are meant for each other; I've never met any other two people who could _be_ more right for each other." Gabriella hiccuped. "Now let's take these pregnancy tests and then we'll discuss what you're going to do."

Gabriella took a breath and then nodded. She mutely grabbed a pregnancy test and entered the tiny room where the toilet sat, closing the door behind her. Taylor leaned against the counter and waited for Gabriella to come out. When she didn't, Taylor frowned. She thought that Gabriella would come out and wait the three minutes with her, but obviously the former had some other plans.

After three minutes, Gabriella stumbled out, holding up a positive pregnancy test. Taylor bit her lip. However, before she could say anything, Gabriella grabbed the second test and locked herself in the toilet again.

Taylor sank down to the ground and waited impatiently, tapping her foot loudly on the ground. However, Gabriella remained out of sight yet again, and when she appeared five minutes later, Taylor saw that the second test was positive too.

Gabriella threw out the tests and slowly sat down next to Taylor, before bursting into tears again. Taylor rubbed her back soothingly to calm Gabriella down. "Gabriella, it's okay. Worse things have happened."

"I feel like such a horrible person!" wailed Gabriella. "I conceived a child with a married man."

"Well technically-" said Taylor, but Gabriella interrupted her.

"_Technically_, legally, they were still married," she said sharply. "They may be divorced now, but they weren't then."

Taylor sighed. There was no use arguing. "What are you going to do now?" asked Taylor quietly.

"About the baby? I'm keeping it," she said automatically.

"You are?" asked Taylor, surprised.

Gabriella looked at her. "This isn't the baby's fault. It's _my_ fault. I'm the stupid one, and my child shouldn't have to pay for it." Suddenly Gabriella groaned. "I'm going to have two children under the age of one... oh, how am I going to do this?"

"Well,_ I_ think you should go back to Buffalo," said Taylor, standing up. Gabriella stared at her through her tears. "Troy deserves to know. And besides, you love him. You deserve to be with him."

Gabriella stood up shakily. "I deserve to be with a man that broke my heart once?" she asked weakly.

Taylor shook her head. "No, you deserve to be with a man who loves you more than he loves anything else in this world; a man that will actually treat you right."

Gabriella bit her lower lip but didn't say anything.

"What do you say?"

She took a deep breath and nodded. "Let's go."

Taylor grinned happily. "Great!"

Twenty minutes, with the help of Chad, Gabriella had all of her stuff packed. Taylor had given her some morning sickness medicine and about fifty packets of saltine crackers. The two women had a very tearful good-bye, with Taylor yelling after her as she and Chad drove to the airport, "Call me for the wedding!"

At the airport, Chad helped her unload and gave her a long good-bye hug, causing passers-by to comment on their lovely family. Gabriella giggled and Chad blushed. "Thanks for everything, Chad," said Gabriella earnestly. "You've really helped me."

"No problem," said Chad truthfully. "Anything for you." He punched her arm lightly and she beamed.

"Tell Taylor I'll call her tomorrow, okay?"

"Sure thing." They gave each other one last quick hug and Chad kissed the top of her head before he got back in her car and drove away.

Gabriella bought a ticket to Buffalo and got through security surprisingly fast, and was happy that she was late – her flight had just started boarding when she arrived and since she had a baby with her, they let her on first.

Luckily for her no one sat in the same row as her and Jackson, so she was able to spread out her things. Jackson was happily sucking away on his pacifier, playing with his feet as Gabriella read a gossip magazine.

"God, the money these people will spend on one dinner," she muttered to herself.

About an hour into the flight, Gabriella, the speed-reader that she is, had nothing left to do. She sighed and leaned her head against the seat, glancing over at Jackson. His pacifier had fallen from his mouth, and he was currently sucking on his toes.

"Hey," she cooed, putting her face right in front of his. He grinned at her and grabbed her nose. "Hey, that's mine!" she accused him and he giggled. She smiled back. "Hey, what do you say about getting a new brother or sister? Yeah! Would you like that?" Jackson laughed happily. "Yeah, I think I'd like it too," she said slowly. "And maybe Troy could be your daddy and Lauren your new sister!" she added and then gasped in surprise. _Where did _that_ come from?_

She sat up, chewing the inside of her mouth thoughtfully. _Maybe... we _could_ be a family..._ she mused. _Me, Troy, Lauren, Jackson, and this baby..._

She sighed. The thought didn't sound so horrifying anymore. Swallowing, she still told herself not to think about it. _First I need to know what Troy thinks,_ she convinced herself. _Then I'll fantasize._

Gabriella didn't even know she'd fallen asleep until she heard a flight attendant saying gently to her, "Um, miss? Excuse me, ma'am?" Gabriella started and looked around, forgetting for a moment where they were. "I'm sorry for waking you," said the young, blonde flight attendant. "But we're about to land and you need to put your tray up and fasten your seat belt."

Gabriella nodded in understanding and did what the woman asked. She looked over at Jackson, who'd fallen asleep as well. She brushed some of his hair away from his face and held tightly onto his portable car seat as the plane descended. Almost as soon as they landed, Gabriella retrieved her luggage and almost ran off the plane. She waited ten minutes for her large suitcase and then hailed a taxi immediately upon exiting the airport. She noted that Buffalo was slightly warmer than normal in early September before sliding into the taxi and giving the driver Troy's address.

The ten minute drive seemed to take only about thirty seconds, and before she knew it, she'd arrived at Troy's face. Gabriella gulped at the sight and stared at the house for a good minute, before the driver cleared his throat. She quickly paid him and climbed out of the car, Jackson and all her bags with her. She slowly walked up the steps to the front.

Gabriella, holding Jackson in his car seat and her luggage gathered around her, slowly sucked in a breath and knocked three times on the front door. Jackson coughed a couple times and Gabriella kissed his forehead softly.

The door opened and Troy's silhouette appeared in the doorway. Tightening her grip on the handle of Jackson's car seat, Gabriella said, "Um... hi, Troy."

"Gabriella?" Troy leaned forward and his head became visible. "W-what are you doing here?"

She smiled sheepishly. "Well, I need a place to stay."

Troy grinned. "Come on in." He stepped outside and took a hold of her suitcases, as Gabriella stepped tentatively into the house. She walked into the family room and saw Lauren sitting on the ground, playing with Princess blocks. "Hi, Lauren," said Gabriella quietly.

Lauren turned her face around and giggled joyously. "Gab!" she cried, holding out her arms. Gabriella giggled. She placed Jackson's seat on the couch and walked over to Lauren, hugging her.

"She's not the only one who missed you," came Troy's voice. Gabriella let go of Lauren and turned, meeting Troy's gaze from right behind Jackson. "She asked for you a lot," Troy informed her. "Well, if you could call it that. Every morning she would yell for 'Gab'."

Gabriella smiled slightly. "And you?"

Troy's face was unreadable; his eyes bore into hers. Stepping from behind the couch, he grabbed her hand and sat her down on the couch with him. "I missed you more than you could ever imagine," he told her gruffly. He leaned in to kiss her, and as much as Gabriella wanted to accept it, she couldn't. She put her hand on Troy's lips and he opened his eyes, staring at her. "What is it?"

She sat up straighter and heaved a huge sigh, feeling old and weary. "I need to know something from you first." She looked up and met his eyes, trying to convey all her thoughts into them. "And I need you to be perfectly honest."

"I would never lie to you," said Troy immediately.

Gabriella gave him a small smile. "But you have before." Before Troy could say anything, she continued. "I have only been in love twice and both times, they were met with disastrous endings. The both times I allowed myself to love, to be vulnerable, to give my heart away, I always got it back, ripped and torn. Excuse the cliché," she grinned slightly. "In high school, you told me you would never hurt me. You _promised_ me. You told me that I would never have to worry about our relationship – that we would be together forever." A single tear formed in her eye but she tried to wipe it away without Troy noticing. "But we weren't. You dumped me, with no prior notice, the last day we were to see each other until Thanksgiving. And I know you say you regret it," she added quickly, in response to Troy's open mouth, "But I didn't know that. I didn't know that it was the worst mistake of your life. All I knew was that you didn't want to me. And, you know, I didn't think what you're supposed to think after a break up; you know, that I'm better off without him, that he's an ass for breaking up with me, that he doesn't deserve me. No, I kept thinking about what _I_ did wrong; what _I_ could've done to make him dump me so cruelly. I was so depressed that I almost flunked out of my first semester in college." She sighed. "But some new friends, also with Taylor, Chad, Kelsi, and everyone else, were able to get me to move on."

She blinked, not daring to look at Troy. Instead she focused on Lauren, who was trying to build a tall tower of blocks, but kept knocking them down because she wasn't so good on her feet yet. "I started dating around, meeting guys. But no one serious came along until Nathaniel." She shook her head slightly, ashamed. "I did love him. Maybe not as much as you, but there was still something there. Thinking back, I'm not sure what it was..." She was silent; subconsciously she was thinking of memories from when she and Nathaniel dated. She quickly realized what she was doing and blushed, but continued as if nothing had happened. "I may have had my doubts about Nathaniel, but I never once thought of leaving him until you came back. You made me realize that I only had one true love, and that it was you. I didn't even care if you stayed with Devon or not; I just knew that I couldn't be with Nathaniel – of course, there were other reasons for that too –" She pursed her lips. "but as long as I still had memories of you, I couldn't be with anyone else." She sighed. "Just because_ I_ divorced Nathaniel doesn't mean that it wasn't hard on me. It was awful. Once again, I kept asking myself what I had done wrong, to make him so angry with me all the time; to make him cheat." She cleared her throat. "But this time, I had someone else to help me."

Gabriella finally chanced a look at Troy, who was pale and seemed as if he was bursting to say something. "That's why I left. I was afraid because... I love you. Troy, I really do love you and I don't want to get hurt again. So I want to know from you... if we were to be together, would you hurt me again?" Troy opened his mouth to respond right away but Gabriella cut him off. "You have to think hard about it, Troy. Because you told me once before that you would never hurt me and you did. If you have any doubts at all that we won't work out, you have to tell me."

Troy leaned forward and placed his hands on Gabriella's shoulders, squeezing them lightly. "You know that I can't guarantee whether or not our relationship will work out. But I _can_ tell you that if it's up to me, we will. I don't have to think hard about it, because I already know that I will never, ever hurt you again. I will never take love advice from anyone. I'll just follow my heart, and my heart has always told me to be with you." He paused and added, "I'm sorry how much I hurt you before. I really am."

"It's okay," said Gabriella quietly. "And...you promise?" she asked weakly.

"I _swear_." Troy grinned.

Gabriella smiled back at him, her eyes twinkling. "Good. Because I love you."

"I love you too." Troy leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers, enveloping them in a passionate kiss. He snaked his arms around her waist and she wrapped her own arms around his neck, pressing them closer together. After a moment, Gabriella broke away. "I have to tell you something," she told him excitedly. She scooted herself back a little and took Troy's hands in hers.

"What is it?"

She beamed. "You're going to be a father."

Troy blinked at her. "I already am a father."

"Well, yeah, I know, but you're gonna be a father again," she said, smiling ecstatically.

"Oh!" said Troy. "So, you want me to adopt Jackson? That's great! And you can adopt Lauren so we'll be a family." He smiled at her and she pursed her lips.

"Yes, that's a great idea," she said slowly. "But Troy," she placed his hands on her small stomach. "I'm pregnant."

Troy stared her her for a long time before moving his gaze to her stomach. "P-pregnant?" he stammered.

Gabriella felt her face fall. "Yeah. You're not happy?"

"Happy?" Troy stood up and picked Gabriella up in her arms, spinning around. "Are you kidding? Of _course_ I'm happy!"

Gabriella giggled loudly, hitting Troy on the shoulder, demanding him to put her down. He obliged and cupped her face in his hands. "I love you so, _so_ much," he said earnestly.

"And I love you."

He kissed her deeply again and Gabriella could feel his happiness pouring into her, causing her to smile against his lips. He broke away and kneeled down, putting his face up against Gabriella's stomach. "Hey in there," he said quietly. "You're the luckiest kid in the world. You have a beautiful mother and the best older sister and brother."

"And the most loving father you could ever ask for," added Gabriella.

Troy grinned up at her. Then, he jumped up and said, "I'll be right back!" before dashing out of the room and up the stairs.

Gabriella looked confusedly after him before turning to Lauren, who was now attempting to build a short, but long, house of blocks. "What is daddy doing?" she cooed at Lauren, who just squealed in delight. Gabriella poked her head into Jackson's seat, where the four-month old was sitting patiently, letting his eyes roam the scene. "Aw, come here, you big boy." Gabriella unstrapped him and removed him from the seat, giving him the chance to spread his legs. She spread out a blanket on the ground and set Jackson upon it, on his back, and gave him a small toy to occupy himself. "Watch Jackson, okay Lauren?" Lauren responded by clapping her hands.

"Gabriella," came Troy's nervous voice. Gabriella turned and saw Troy standing right behind her.

"Yes?" she said, smiling. Her smile was replaced with a look of shock when Troy slowly bent down on one knee. "Troy, what are you-"

"Gabriella, I love you. You and your son are two of the people I love most in this world and now you're carrying my child. I love you more than life itself, so there's only one thing that I can possibly do about that." He removed a dark blue velvet box from his pocket and opened it, to reveal a gorgeous diamond ring. "Will you marry me?"

Gabriella's mouth fell opened. She slowly reached down and took the box from him, staring at the ring. "When did you get this?" she breathed.

"Remember that day you... left?" he asked, standing up. She nodded, her eyes focused in on the ring. "Well, you left when Lauren and I were out and this is where we were getting."

Gabriella's jaw dropped even more as she moved her gaze from the ring to him. "You were?" she asked, suddenly feeling ashamed.

"Yeah. I know it was _really_ quick after Devon, well, dumped me, but I knew that I'd loved you all along and the only thing I wanted was for us to be together. So... what do you say?" he asked nervously.

She grinned at him. "Yes, of _course_ I'll marry you!" she screamed blissfully, throwing her arms around Troy's neck and hugging him tightly. He hugged her too, arching his back so that her feet lifted off the ground. He set her down a moment later and removed the ring from its box, slowly slipping her onto her ring finger.

He leaned in closely and whispered, "I love you."

She pressed her lips against his and breathed, "I love you too."


	13. Epilogue

**AN:** Aw, it's over. :-( Ending stories is always bittersweet. But I had so much fun writing this story and getting all your wonderful reviews, so again, thank you so much. :-)

A couple things to mention: #1) A song is used later in this chapter, lyrics and all. The song is called At The Beginning, by Donna Lewis and Richard Marx. It is my all-time favorite song EVER, the one song that I can listen to over and over again. In my profile, I posted a link to the song on youtube – it's the song playing to a Troyella music video ;-). If you don't know the song, I suggest you listen to it while reading. The song describes Troy and Gabriella's relationship so well.

#2) I have some background information on this story that never made it into the story, so if you would like to read it, visit my freewebs (homepage link on my website). It's kind of interesting, if I do say so myself. Although it might not be up there right away.

#3) If anyone happens to be REALLY talented at making blends/banners, I would love it if you would contact me. :-) I would like to make posters for my stories, just because I think it'd be really fun, but I am TOTALLY bad at it so I'd need someone else to do it for me. :-)

**#4) I'm thinking of writing a sort of sequel/spin-off that would center around Danielle and her husband (whose identity will be revealed in this chapter), although I'm not sure. Thoughts? And this is the only type of sequel I would write – in other words, I'm not going to write a sequel based on Troy and Gabriella.**

And lastly, thank you all so much for reading and reviewing this story, and making it my highest reviewed-story so far. Again, I love you all and I hope you will continue to read my stories and give me amazing feedback! So long for now!

**Title: **_With You  
_**Rating:** _T  
_**Author: **_MadiWillow  
_**Summary: **_Troy is married with a small daughter. Gabriella is married and pregnant. They didn't keep in touch after school following a nasty break-up, but everyone knows that true love never dies.  
_**Genre:** _Drama/Romance  
_**Chapter: **_Epilogue_

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Chloe, happy birthday to you!" The room erupted into applause as the guests of the party finished their song. The birthday girl, one-year-old Chloe Bolton, sat in her mothers lap and stared at the chocolate cake in front of her, mesmerized by the single candle.

"Can you blow out the candles, sweetie?" asked her mother, Gabriella Bolton. Chloe just giggled and looked around and all of the people staring at her.

"Mommy, I will do it!" cried Lauren from next to Gabriella, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

Gabriella laughed. "Okay Lauren, go for it!"

The three-year-old sucked in a huge breath before blowing out the candle with all her might. It quickly went out and Chad joked, "I'm not sure if I want to eat that anymore. It looks like she got some spit in there."

The guests laughed and Taylor snapped, "Chad!" and hit his arm.

"Good job," said Gabriella to Lauren, kissing her on the head. Chloe squealed at the sight and clapped her hands together.

"Do you want me to cut the cake?" asked Troy Bolton of his wife of seventeen months. In his arms was their almost-two-year-old son, Jackson.

"If you wouldn't mind," said Gabriella, smiling at him. She stood up, balancing Chloe on her hip, and kissed him softly on the lips. Troy grinned back at her. He placed Jackson in his highchair and then sat down in Gabriella's vacated seat, announcing, "Okay, who wants cake!?"

"Oh, me!" cried Lauren, raising her hand high into the air. "_Pleeeease_?"

Troy laughed. "Oh, I guess so." He leaned down and picked her up, placing her on the chair next to him. She scrambled and sat up on her knees instead, so she could see over the table. Troy cut her a tiny piece of cake and handed it to her, along with a plastic fork. She picked up the fork and tried to spoon bits of cake into her mouth, very unsuccessfully.

"Cake!" said Jackson, holding out his hands.

Troy glanced at Gabriella, who was watching them. "It's gonna take a long time to clean up," he winked, and she smiled back. Troy cut Jackson a small piece of cake as well and put it on his highchair tray. Jackson grabbed a fistful of cake and stuffed it into his mouth, chocolate frosting coating his face.

"Can I play with Chloe?" asked Danielle Cross, her own seven month pregnant belly nearly popping out of her dress. Her husband, Jason, stood next to her, beaming. Jason had been released from prison a month before Troy and Gabriella's New Years Eve wedding in the Caribbean and had met Danielle there. Two months later they were engaged, and another six months later they were married. Now they're expecting their first child together and couldn't be happier.

"Of course," said Gabriella warmly, handing over Chloe to her godmother. Chloe squealed in happiness, "Da!", her nickname for Danielle.

Danielle and Jason ran a very successful day care center about ten minutes away. Jason managed its finances while Danielle worked in it and juggled school at the same time. Gabriella sometimes would drop Lauren, Jackson, and Chloe there when she and Troy would go out on a 'date night' together, something they didn't get to do very often.

"I'll be right back," said Gabriella to Danielle, and she left the three of them behind in the kitchen as she went to check on the children in the family room, who'd been having too much fun to come sing. "What are you guys doing in here?" she asked interestedly, taking a seat on the couch. The TV was on, playing Spongebob Squarepants, and there were toys covering the floor.

"I'm watching TV," said Halyn, Sharpay and Zeke's five-year-old daughter. The little girl, with dark brown hair that reached her shoulders and milk chocolate-skin, stood up and walked over to Gabriella. "Well, I'm _trying_ to watch. All the little kids are just so noisy!"

"Ah," said Gabriella, nodded in understanding. "Well, do you want some cake?"

Halyn's face lit up. "Cake!? Yes!" She tore into the kitchen, saying, "Daddy! Can I have some cake?"

"Where'd Halyn go?" asked a small voice. Gabriella turned to face Arthur, Halyn's twin brother. Arthur looked nearly identical to Halyn, except his hair was shorter and he was, in fact, a boy. Their personalities were completely opposite, however. Halyn was outgoing and very much a performer like her mother, while Arthur was quiet and shy. He tended to stick next to his sister's side at all times.

"She's in the kitchen," Gabriella pointed and Arthur followed the same path his sister had taken only seconds before. Gabriella grinned slightly. Halyn and Arthur were well-known 'celebrity babies', as Sharpay was a famous A-list actress. She could easily tell why Arthur was so shy, what with photographers constantly after a picture of him. She remembered when Sharpay had arrived to the party a couple hours earlier; she was wearing large sunglasses and a scarf around her neck, with Chastity, her ten-month old daughter, bundled up against her chest. It had caused Gabriella to burst out laughing.

"Jessie! What do you think you're doing!?" came Taylor's shrill voice from inside the kitchen. Curiously, Gabriella stood up and poked her head into the kitchen and started to laugh. Said four-year-old had thrown a handful of cake into his two-year-old brother's face. Kyle was bawling his head off as Taylor, her shirt pulled tightly across her pregnant stomach, yelled "Chad, do something!"

"Uh," stammered Chad. He picked up Jessie and said, "Nice throw. Maybe you could be a football player." Jessie giggled happily.

"Chad!" cried Taylor. She picked up the crying Kyle and brought him over to the sink to wash of his face. "Nice way to discipline your son."

Gabriella rolled her eyes.

"Mommy, look, I have cake!" cried Chelsea and Colin, three-year-old twins of Kelsi and Ryan, in unison. The two of them spooned cake into the their mouths at the same time, chewing together. Kelsi laughed and Ryan walked over behind them.

"Hey, can I have some?"

Chelsea and Colin both put more cake on their forks and each stuffed some into Ryan's mouth at the same time. Caught by surprise, he choked and coughed a couple times before swallowing. Chelsea and Colin giggled together. Colin had Ryan's exact same pale blonde hair and hazel eyes, while Chelsea had Kelsi's brown hair and brown eyes. The two did everything together and had near-identical personalities.

"Mommy." Gabriella looked down at Lauren, who was still sitting at the kitchen table. Her white-blonde hair reached her shoulders and curled at the bottom. Her skin was pale except for her cheeks, which were rosy with excitement, and her blue eyes held love for Gabriella. "Mommy, when are they leaving?"

Gabriella laughed and bent down. "Why? You're not having fun with your friends?"

She shrugged and yawned. "I'm tired."

"Aw." Gabriella kissed her forehead. "They'll leave soon. Do you wanna sleep on the couch?"

Lauren shook her head, her eyes drooping slightly.

"Oh, Gabriella!" yelled Danielle from across the kitchen. "I think someone's hungry!"

The gazes of all the adults in the room turned to Danielle. Chloe was cradled in Danielle's arms and was trying to nurse from her. "Sorry little girl. These babies won't have anything in them for another two months."

The room erupted in laughed and Gabriella strode forward, taking her younger daughter from Danielle. She sat down at the kitchen table and started to feed Chloe, whilst shielding the scene from the guests with a large blanket.

An hour later, most of the guests had left, save for Jason and Danielle. Sharpay and Zeke had to be back in the city that night for an event, so they had to leave by private jet as soon as they could. Kelsi and Ryan were hitching a ride with them, seeing as they had to attend the opening night of one of Kelsi's play's on Broadway. Taylor and Chad also had to leave; they were flying back to Florida on a red-eye.

"Okay Gabriella, so I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" asked Danielle as she and Jason were leaving.

"Sure. But I have to bring the kids because Troy has to work."

"Oh that's okay! I love the kiddies." Danielle winked. She hugged Gabriella good-bye while the men shook hands. A moment later they were gone.

Troy and Gabriella strode back into the living room, hands intertwined. "Do I have to go to work tomorrow?" Troy pouted.

Gabriella laughed. "Well, if you want to send our kids to college, yes."

Troy groaned. "I hate being the vice president of an insurance company."

His wife laughed. "Aw, it's okay. You're good at it."

"How can you be good at something like that?" inquired Troy.

Gabriella shrugged. "I don't know, but you managed to get a seven-figure paycheck after only two years."

"But that's only because I worked there before I married," Troy pointed out.

"Yeah but they took you back. So they must've liked you."

Troy puffed out his chest importantly. "Well, can't argue with you there."

Gabriella giggled. They stood behind the couch in the living room, watching their children. Lauren had changed into her Cinderella nightgown (as she was obsessed with princesses) and was trying to help Jackson build a block castle. However, Lauren wanted to make it "nice and pretty" but Jackson was only interested in knocking it down. Every time the blocks collapsed, he would squeal with joy and laugh, crying, "Fall down! Fall down!" and Lauren would get angrier.

"No, Jackson, _not_ fall down!" she would try to tell him, but he would just do it again. Finally she got fed up and stomped over to her parents. "Mommy, daddy, Jackson keeps knocking down the blocks."

Gabriella and Troy exchanged glances, smiling slightly. "Well, I think it's time for bed anyway. It's already eight o' clock."

"No! Mommy, I'm not tired!" cried Lauren.

"Lauren, you told me you were tired an hour ago!"

"But I'm not tired _now_!" Lauren protested.

Troy laughed. "Well, it's still time for bed, little missy." He picked her up and heaved her over his shoulder, causing her to laugh with glee.

"Daddy, put me down!" she laughed.

"Put you down? Oh, I'll put you down!" he roared in a loud, playful voice. He carried her over to the couch and lifted her high above his head. She squealed with laughter and squirmed, trying to get away. Troy held on tight to her and dropped her onto the couch, causing her to bounce a couple of times. She brushed her hair our of her eyes and said, "Daddy, do it again!"

Gabriella laughed. "Good job _winding_ _her_ _down_, Troy." She shook her head, smiling slightly. She bent over and picked Chloe up off the floor, where she was chewing on a toy book, and Jackson, who was examining a red block. Juggling the two in her arms, she said, "I'll put these two to bed and then I'll tuck you in, okay Lauren?"

"Okay Mommy." Gabriella was leaving the room when Lauren yelled after her, "Wait, Mommy! Can I kiss them good-night?"

Smiling, Gabriella walked back to the couch, bending over slightly so Lauren could kiss her younger siblings on the head. "Love you!"

"Love you!" Jackson replied, having been taught that saying by Lauren. Chloe just clapped.

Troy kissed the two of them also, repeating Lauren's words and receiving the same reactions back. Then he kissed Gabriella lightly on the mouth. She smirked and then headed upstairs.

First she put Jackson to bed. Entering the room that Lauren had used to occupy, she set Chloe on the ground with her book while she changed Jackson's diaper and put on his pajamas. She gave him a big kiss on the cheek and he yelled, "Love you! Love you!" as she lay him down in his crib.

"Good-night, sweetie," cooed Gabriella, running her hand over Jackson's thin black hair. Her ex-husband's hazel eyes stared back at her, twinkling in the light. Gabriella's smile faltered a little. She had not seen hide nor hair of Nathaniel since that day she'd threatened to ruin him if she sued for custody. She felt horrible for Jackson, knowing that one day she'd have to tell him that his biological father had only wanted custody of him to get back at her. She ran a finger down his soft cheek subconsciously. The only good thing that had come out of her first marriage had been this little boy right in front of her. She smiled slightly. She shouldn't worry about what Jackson would think of Nathaniel when he got older. He had a perfectly good father downstairs, who adopted him when they married and loved him as much as he loved Lauren and Chloe.

She slowly picked up Chloe and tip-toed out of the room after switching on Jackson's night-light. She closed the door and walked down the hall. One door was open, to reveal the kid's playroom. Toys were littering the floor, and Gabriella knew that it would take a while to clean up, but she smiled nonetheless. She loved having a house full of children, even though they were all so young. It made life that much more interesting.

Gabriella entered Chloe's room, which had previously been used as the second guest room. She changed her into pink footie pajamas and kissed her on the nose. "Mama," she cooed and Gabriella smiled. Nothing made her happier than when her child calls her 'mom' or when they say they loved her. They may not know what it means, but it's adorable all the same.

She lay Chloe down in her crib and watched the little girl kick her legs as she sucked her fingers. Her light brown hair curled at her ears and her tan skin looked darker in the dimly-lit room. Gabriella's own dark brown eyes were looking at her and Gabriella flushed with pride. Gabriella may have not wanted her at first, she may have cried when finding out about her, but she was one of the best things that had ever happened to her. Lauren, Troy, Jackson, and Chloe were the four best things in her life. "Happy birthday, honey."

Gabriella turned on Chloe's Snow White night-light (Lauren was trying to get her into princesses early) before leaving the room. She walked down the hall, into the room where Gabriella had lived for three months when Jackson was first born; the room where Troy and Gabriella had made Chloe.

Troy was in there, tucking Lauren into her Little Mermaid big-girl bed. Upon sight of Gabriella, Lauren jumped up and said, "Oh, Daddy, I have to say good-night to Mommy first."

Gabriella smiled and hugged her daughter, kissing the top of her head. "I love you," said Gabriella to Lauren.

"I love you more!" grinned Lauren, her small teeth reflecting the light.

"Alright, let's go, you," said Troy gruffly, grabbing Lauren around the waist and tossing her back onto her pillow. Lauren giggled uncontrollably as Troy re-tucked her in. He kissed her forehead and said, "Good-night, honey."

Troy and Gabriella turned to leave but were called back by Lauren's sleepy voice.

"Mommy, Daddy, can you sing the song?"

"What song?" asked Gabriella. Their children always wanted them to sing.

"The Anastasia song," said Lauren, her eyes drooping, as she named her all-time favorite princess movie.

Troy and Gabriella exchanged smiles. "Okay, just this one song," said Troy. They walked back over to the bed and stood over her, arms around each other.

Gabriella started the song.

_We were strangers,  
__Starting out on a journey.  
__Never dreaming,  
__What we'd have to go through.  
__Now here we are,  
__And I'm suddenly standing,  
__At the beginning with you._

Troy stared at his wife lovingly as she sang, almost missing his cue to start. She gave him a look and he opened his mouth to start.

_No one told me,  
__I was going to find you.  
__Unexpected,  
__What you did to my heart._

Gabriella beamed at him as they sang together.

_When I lost hope,  
__You were there to remind me,  
__This is the staa-aart.  
__And life is a road and I wanna keep going.  
__Love is a river I wanna keep flowing.  
__Life is a road, now and forever,  
__Wonderful journey._

_  
__I'll be there when the world stops turning,  
__I'll be there when the storm is through.  
__In the end I wanna be standing,  
__At the beginning,  
__With you._

Troy and Gabriella paused for a moment, lost in each other's eyes, but we're interrupted when Lauren murmured, "Keep going." Gabriella grinned at her daughter and tightened her hold around Troy's waist as she sang her solo.

_We were strangers,  
__On a crazy adventure._

And Troy broke in with his solo:

_Never dreaming,  
__How our dreams would come true._

Beaming at each other, the two started to sing together, feeling as if the song had been written especially for them.

_Now here we stand,  
__Unafraid of the future,  
__At the beginning,  
__With you._

_And life is a road and I wanna keep going,  
__Love is a river I wanna keep flowing.  
__Life is a road, now and forever,  
__Wonderful journey.  
__  
__I'll be there when the world stops turning,  
__I'll be there when the storm is through.  
__In the end I wanna be standing,  
__At the beginning,  
__With you._

_I knew there was somebody, somewhere,  
__Like me alone,  
__In the dark.  
__Now I know my dream will live on,  
__I've been waiting so long.  
__Nothing's gonna tear us apaa-aaart._

Gabriella took a deep breath, getting ready to sing the high, long notes, all whilst staring into Troy's eyes, love written all over her face.

_(And liiiiiife) And life is a road and I wanna keep going going  
__(And looo-ooove) Love is river I wanna keep flowing  
__Life is a road, now and forever,  
__Wonderful journey._

_I'll be there when the world stops turning.  
__I'll be there when the storm is through.  
__In the end I wanna be standing,  
__At the beginning,  
__With you._

_And life is a road and I wanna keep going,  
__Love is a river I wanna keep going oooooon._

Gabriella sang the last solo line of the song:

_Starting out on a journey._

And the couple finished out together.

_And life is a road and I wanna keep going,  
__Love is a river I wanna keep flowing.  
__In the end I wanna be standing,  
__At the beginning...  
__With youu-uuu._

_Hmm-mmm,_ Gabriella sang the end, smiling widely at Troy. He bent down and kissed her on the mouth and she kissed him back. After a moment they realized that they were still in their daughter's room. They glanced over and saw that Lauren was fast asleep, her white-blonde hair fanned out across her Ariel pillow. Troy grabbed Gabriella's hand and led her out, closing the door behind them.

"What is it about that room?" he asked his wife, grinning.

She giggled. "I'm not sure. But I love that song," she whispered, hugging Troy around the middle.

Troy hugged her back, kissing the top of her head. "It's just describes us so well, doesn't it?" he joked.

Gabriella stood in front of him, standing on her tip-toes to kiss him on the mouth. "It does," she said softly. "I wanna be standing at the beginning with you."

Troy kissed her back. "You already are."


End file.
